Final workshop of the NanoDESK project

Last Monday, May 13th, the event “NanoDESK Workshop: innovative solutions for the application and safe use of nanomaterials in the plastic industry” took place in Valencia. This event served as the closing of the project “Advanced web tools to promote the application of nanotechnology and safe use of nanomaterials in the plastics sector (NanoDESK)”. This project has been funded thanks to the Interreg Sudoe Program of the European Union.

During the day, different talks related to nanomaterials and their applications were given, and a specific session was devoted to the results of the project. Dr. Begoña Espina (INL) gave a talk about the toxicological profile of nanomaterials and the test recommendations, and Mr. Alfonso Gallo (ITENE) described the NanoDESK platform and its tools for information search, risk profile identification and exposure assessment. On behalf of ProtoQSAR, its director Rafael Gozalbes gave a talk on computational methods as novel and useful methodologies for the evaluation of nanomaterial risks.

The SUDOE platform includes computational tools developed by ProtoQSAR to predict the toxicity of certain nanomaterials, as well as to estimate the exposure to nanomaterials of both workers and consumers and in outdoor spaces. These tools are freely available upon registration at http://sudoenanodesk.net/.