Themed collection Recent Open Access Articles

There are numerous opportunities for nanomaterials and nanotechnology to support circular economy adoption. In this perspective, we present the important role engineered nanomaterials can play in advancing the circularity of bulk composite materials.

This perspective illuminates the crucial need to consider gas feedstock purity and source when designing new electrified CO₂ conversion nanomaterials.

Recycling of non-product outputs containing substantial amounts of rare elements originating in nanomaterial syntheses is relatively attractive as rare elements tend to be more valuable than abundant elements.

Drawing the picture of the opportunities and challenges of using in vitro data to calculate effect factors in LCA.

An overall structure of this review.

The critical review covers the applications, associated mechanisms, challenges, and prospects of magnetically recyclable nanophotocatalysts in photocatalysis-related processes.

This review discusses the interactions between graphene-based nanomaterials and microbial communities in different environmental compartments reconstituted in microcosms, from soil and freshwater to bioprocesses treating waste.

MNPs may undergo different environmental transformations in aquatic systems, consequently changing their mobility, bioavailability and toxicity to freshwater invertebrates.

A systematic review of the use of single particle ICP-MS to analyse engineered nanomaterials in biological samples has highlighted that efforts have focused on a select few compositions and there is a lack of information for some important tissues.

The toxicity and ecotoxicity effects, handling and disposal of synthetic amorphous silica nanoparticles and aerogels are reviewed and discussed.

A critical review which delves into the advantages of the use of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) in nano-based cancer therapy, which includes its more positive environmental impact compared to previous systems.

Suspended nanoplastics can be removed from the water column with nanobubbles if interparticle repulsive forces are overcome by pH adjustment.

Temperature modulation was demonstrated as a novel way to control water partitioning during the reaction of silicate minerals with water-saturated supercritical carbon dioxide.

We successfully predict distribution of nanoparticles (NPs) in human tissues applying surface energies for NPs, membranes, plasma and protein, considering various biochemical interactions. Phagocyte-rich and cancerous tissues accumulate NPs.

Commercial titania modified the behavior of ants by changing their cuticular hydrocarbon profile composition through photocatalytic oxidation.

Aramid amphiphiles with chelating head groups spontaneously form robust nanoribbons in water with surfaces capable of heavy metal remediation.

Graphene oxide obtained from biomass possesses a rich variety of properties and applications. Sargassum, a macroalgae abundant in the Caribbean Sea, has been proposed as a viable and cost-effective biomass.

Macrophages treated with polylactide beads degrade them but show various responses in the meantime.

Ti- and Zn-containing nanoparticles from a mineral-based sunscreen are detected and classified against the natural particle background from river water using single-particle ICP-TOFMS and hierarchical clustering analysis.

Extracellular polymeric substances from the diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana adsorb onto citrate-coated nAg, forming an eco-corona and reducing nanoparticle dissolution and aggregation.

Our study presents an atmospheric inventory of Ti-containing NPs from industrial sources, highlighting environmental risks and informing strategies for pollution control and public health protection.

The low molecular weight degradation products of nanosize biodegradable plastics were identified by mass spectrometry. The only detected products for PLA, PCL and PET were found to a rise from hydrolysis.

Methanol probe chemisorption quantifies the number of reactive surface sites of engineered nanomaterials, enabling normalization per reactive site in reactivity and toxicity tests, rather than per mass or physical surface area.

An easy recoverable TiO₂-immobilized PVDF bead photocatalyst with stable Ti–F binding for water treatment under UVA LED irradiation and efficient usage of TiO₂ nanoparticles is presented.

Biocompatible nanoformulations made from olive pomace and egg yolk phosphatidylcholine to deliver hydroxytyrosol as an antiparasitic agent.

Anthropogenic contaminants can place significant stress on vegetation, especially when they are taken up into plants.

Exposure to AgNP-polymer nanocomposites and its individual component materials results in widespread but differing toxicologic effects.

Wetland mesocosms retained nanoplastics. Nanoplastics where taken up by freshwater invertebrates and macrophytes and mainly ended up in the sediments of the water compartment.

Potential bioaccumulation and human oral bioavailability of TiO₂ NPs and Ag NPs in aquaculture products.

Abrasion study of Ag–PETG nanocomposites helps to estimate how much AgNP microplastics are released from composite products during use or into the environment during their lifecycle.

This study compares the impact of different types of metal nanoparticles on major endocrine pathways. It shows that metal ions releasing ones such as silver nanoparticles inhibit Zn-finger dependent pathways, while rock solid nanoparticles do not.

AMEA supports innovators in the earliest phases of material development. AMEA provides design rules and recommends more testing requirements and/or specific methods depending on the positioning of the material in categories.

Sucrose foams are novel nanocomposites to remediate co-contaminated soils without affecting pH and EC or Fe availability in the soils.

The green and safe polymer HEC confers bio-interactive properties to Ag-Nps that, together with the small size and positive ζ potential, increase their biological reactivity towards zebrafish embryos.

The M@GO sorbent is easily separated from wastewater by a magnetic field.

Influence of cerium oxide nanoparticles (nCeO₂) on root bacterial composition and the associated substrate (root zone soil) of Silene flos-cuculi (L.) by metabarcoding.

Hybrid lignin TiO₂ nanoparticles: red-ox activity enables biocide disinfection and dye removal.

Pharmaceutical waste and contaminants pose a significant global concern for water and food safety.

Hg : Se atomic ratios in NPs formed in whales were constant with increasing particle size. The NPs also incorporated other metals (Cd, Sn) indicating that this process may not act exclusively as a MeHg detoxification process.

The cultivation media markedly influence the quantum dot induced effects on photosynthesis properties and growth of green freshwater microalgae.

Storage conditions affect the initial tetrahedral iron and hydroxyl populations of ferrihydrite, both are correlated and decrease over time as function of ageing.

This study explores mucin's ability to selectively recover gold (Au) from metal wastewater. The Au, in the form of a nanoparticle, was utilized in peroxymonosulfate activation for the degradation of bisphenol A.

This study aids in the identification of environmentally friendly and sustainable applications of gold nanoparticles.

Split tube furnaces routinely used in nanotechnology laboratories to generate C-based nanomaterials rely on refractory ceramic insulation fibers, which can pose an inhalation risk to operators.

Conventional toxicological methods and integrated transcriptomic analysis were used to comprehensively assess the potential health hazard of residual metal nanoparticles accumulated in the body due to poor solubility.

Establishing a self-healing platform for the removal and resource recovery of heavy metals, enabling heavy metal-free drinking water.

Concepts of similarity applied to complex multicomponent advanced materials for an informed balance of performance and hazard.

Halloysite nanotube-polydopamine core–shell nano-carriers loaded with thymol offer a sustainable alternative to existing pesticide formulations while providing enhanced efficacy, stability, and crop safety.

Effet of chemical compounds in soil solution to the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ NPs.

Environmentally friendly and waste-free production of photocatalytic filters involving spark ablation and calcination processes for enhanced and durable photocatalytic performance.

The europium doped layered double hydroxides (Eu-LDH) architecture has been designed via a co-precipitation method. It has been demonstrated photo-responsive property to enhance photosynthetic efficiency on Nicotiana benthamiana in greenhouse.

This study focuses on using gold nanostar-based SERS substrates to detect 4 different types of plastic (6 particle sizes within the submicron- and nano-regimes). Substrates could be used to detect concentrations of plastics as low as 625 ng mL⁻¹.

This work uses novel high-throughput phenotypic profiling techniques to elucidate the most probable phytotoxic mechanism of action of LiCoO₂ nanosheets.

Test system to determine nanomaterial heteroagglomeration attachment efficiency for fate models and risk assessment.

The transformation of Ag and ZnO nanoparticles was investigated along pore water depth gradients in sulfate-reducing sediments. This work highlights the benefits of tailored experimental strategies to study nanoparticle environmental transformations.

The clearance pathways of nanoparticles from blood following pore penetration and phagocytosis (take the liver and kidney as examples).

The effect of the phase transition from bismuth iodide to bismuth oxyiodides on the photodegradation efficiency of nitazoxanide is explored.

This study demonstrates that sub-100 nm nanoplastics have a significantly greater capacity for tributyltin adsorption, raising concerns that small nanoplastics may remobilise existing TBT pollution, rendering it more available to marine organisms.

Nanoplastics, solid polymer particles smaller than 1 μm, are suspected to be widely present in the environment, food and air, and may pose a potential threat to human health.

ZnO-nanoparticles reduce the attachment ability of the green stinkbug Nezara viridula, a major pest worldwide, by aggregating on insect attachment devices. These findings can help to develop nontoxic pest-control methods that can be alternatives to insecticides.

Pharmaceutical-induced water pollution threatens health and ecosystems. Advanced oxidation, like electrocatalysis with peroxymonosulfate and calcium copper titanate as a key catalyst, shows promise for removing trace pollutants.

Three different Co(II) species are identified at the surface of stoichiometric magnetite (Fe(II)/Fe(III) = 0.5) by experiments, modeling, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. This affects the fate of Co, and the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles.

Nanofertilizer prepared with urea-hydroxyapatite amalgamation along with PGPR promotes urea availability over longer period of plant growth and reduces wasteful urea expense in soil, curtailing environmental pollution.

The fate and impact of silver nanowires incorporated in a paper-based nano-enabled product (NEP) was investigated in freshwater mesocosms.

Green synthesis of a magnetite/graphitic carbon nitride 2D nanocomposite for efficient Hg²⁺ remediation in different aqueous matrices utilising a thermal assist sonication method.

Copper-doped ZIF-8 nanoparticles loaded with fludioxonil enhanced pesticide translocation in plants compared with use of free fludioxonil, providing insight into the use of stimuli-responsive metal-doped MOF nanocarriers as pesticide-delivery systems in sustainable agriculture.

Biological responses of nanoplastics (NPLs) to microalgae P. malhamensis were concentration, size and medium-dependent. The aggregation behavior is the most influential factor controlling the biological effects of NPLs in culture medium and environmental natural waters.

Graphene oxide can be degraded by ubiquitous fungal enzymes alternative to lignin peroxidase, inhibited by the nanomaterial.

AgNPs not only disrupt activation of the Pmk1-mediated intracellular signaling pathway and conidial autophagy, but also display enhanced fungitoxicity to azoxystrobin-sensitive/resistant strains of M. oryzae when co-applied with azoxystrobin.

Functionalizing nanomaterials with polydopamine and different metals allows selective adsorption of target compounds, like emerging contaminants. Obtained materials are stable, efficient, and faster than bare or other nanoparticles.