Falinski Mark M, Plata Desiree L, Chopra Shauhrat S, Theis Thomas L, Gilbertson Leanne M, Zimmerman Julie B
Department of Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
Institute for Environmental Science and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Nat Nanotechnol. 2018 Aug;13(8):708-714. doi: 10.1038/s41565-018-0120-4. Epub 2018 Apr 30.
Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) and ENM-enabled products have emerged as potentially high-performance replacements to conventional materials and chemicals. As such, there is an urgent need to incorporate environmental and human health objectives into ENM selection and design processes. Here, an adapted framework based on the Ashby material selection strategy is presented as an enhanced selection and design process, which includes functional performance as well as environmental and human health considerations. The utility of this framework is demonstrated through two case studies, the design and selection of antimicrobial substances and conductive polymers, including ENMs, ENM-enabled products and their alternatives. Further, these case studies consider both the comparative efficacy and impacts at two scales: (i) a broad scale, where chemical/material classes are readily compared for primary decision-making, and (ii) within a chemical/material class, where physicochemical properties are manipulated to tailor the desired performance and environmental impact profile. Development and implementation of this framework can inform decision-making for the implementation of ENMs to facilitate promising applications and prevent unintended consequences.
工程纳米材料（ENMs）及含ENMs的产品已成为传统材料和化学品潜在的高性能替代品。因此，迫切需要将环境和人类健康目标纳入ENM的选择和设计过程。在此，提出了一个基于阿什比材料选择策略的适应性框架，作为一个强化的选择和设计过程，该过程包括功能性能以及环境和人类健康考量。通过两个案例研究展示了该框架的实用性，即抗菌物质和导电聚合物（包括ENMs、含ENMs的产品及其替代品）的设计和选择。此外，这些案例研究在两个尺度上考虑了比较功效和影响：（i）一个宽泛的尺度，在此尺度下，化学/材料类别可方便地进行比较以用于初步决策；（ii）在一个化学/材料类别内，在此类别中，通过控制物理化学性质来定制所需性能和环境影响概况。该框架的开发和实施可为ENM的实施决策提供参考，以促进有前景的应用并防止意外后果。
