ASINA Project ends with promising approach

How can we ensure that nano-enable products are "safe-and-sustainable" since their design phase, while maintaining their functionalities, cost-efficiency and added value?

This was the challenge that the ASINA Project, in which CeNTI joined, intended to respond. Thanks to the synergistic commitment of leading research institutions, universities and companies from various European Countries, coordinated by the Italian National Research Council (CNR), ASINA has developed a Safe-by-Design (SbD) approach, incorporating sustainability and safety issues right from the design phase of nanomaterials and production processes.

ASINA's successes are vividly reflected in its pilot cases, which demonstrated the applicability and effectiveness of the SbD approach:

- Antimicrobial and Photocatalytic Coatings (value chain 1): demonstrating how nanomaterial-based coatings can be developed and applied in highly controlled and safe processes, while guarantying the highest sustainability of the final products.

- Nano-encapsulating systems in cosmetics (value chain 2): providing a design approach that promotes safe practices from conception to development phase of new cosmetic products, taking into consideration also the safety and techno-economic performances, leading to increased confidence in its use.

These pilot cases validated the innovation carried out by ASINA, providing concrete examples of the positive impact that nano-based solutions, developed with a responsible approach, can have on society.

Another important result of the ASINA stems from the realization that standardisation is fundamental to promote safety and sustainability in the nanotechnology sector. Thanks to the participation in the consortium of UNI, the Italian Standards Body, the "Standardisation Toolkit" was developed.

This toolkit is a compass to confidently navigate towards the adoption of sustainable and safe development practices, representing a useful resource for the market with a detailed list of relevant national, European, and international standards, as well as other key information. It is destined to become an essential tool for facilitating the understanding and application of safety regulations in the nanotechnology sector. This tool represents a significant step forward in promoting a culture of safety and sustainability in the nanotechnology industry.

The results from ASINA are therefore confirming and exceeding the expectations from initial project objectives. The ASINA methodology will be exploited after the end of the project, to offer companies a practical and science-based decision-support tool which can be easily applied to lower development cost and time-to market of nano-enables solutions, assessing their safety and sustainability level.

ASINA’s publications are freely available on the website and will continue to be available to all stakeholders for the next 4 years.

ASINA Project, promoted by a consortium made up of 21 entities, ran from March 2020 to February 2024 and has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 862444.