Nanoethics for the Plastocene: the value sensitive design of nanofiber materials

This paper focuses on how to respond appropriately to the problem of the (non-)biodegradability of nanofibers and how the integration of ethics could help. First, the paper describes the experience of a bioengineering research team at the Technical University of Liberec in developing a technology for producing filtration materials during the COVID-19 pandemic and the project that was implemented to provide support for ethical decision-making in the field of research and development of nanotechnologies. The paper then looks into the limitations of the EU’s new Medical Device Regulation (2017/745) for the development and design of nanomaterials by focusing on the issue of the (non-)biodegradability of nanofibers. The main argument is that to advance sustainable nanotechnology practices it is essential to incorporate ethical frameworks VSD, which includes a more-than-human ethics, is proposed as suitable for addressing these issues.