Several different types of nanomaterials have been utilized as pigments since time immemorial. For instance, in ancient Egypt, the soot from oil lamps was used to make black pigments of high opacity and stability. These were ideal as black ink for writing on papyrus scrolls. These soot particles or pigments, as we would call them…

Previously, we informed about the NANOMET workshop on the OECD Guidance Document (GD) 317 dealing with the aquatic and sediment toxicity testing of nanomaterials. By the end of last week another NANOMET online seminar took place. There, the scope, content and practical use of the testing guideline (TG) 318 was discussed. It particularly focused on…

In a crude sense of matters, nanotechnology is all about an extremely small dimension, one billionth of a meter, to be precise. At the nanoscale, the rules of the game are not the same as those we have been playing till now with respect to conventional chemicals and substances. On the one hand, nanotechnology has…

In 2020, the OECD released a new set of guidelines for the assessment of fate and ecotoxicity of nanomaterial, one of which is the guidance document (GD) No. 317. It deals with aquatic and sediment ecotoxicity testing of nanomaterials (NM). The document provides instructions on conduction of the ecotoxicity assessment as well as guidance for…