INSIGHT: An integrated framework for safe and sustainable chemical and material assessment

The assessment of chemicals and materials has traditionally been fragmented, with health, environmental, social, and economic impacts evaluated independently. This disjointed approach limits the ability to capture trade-offs and synergies necessary for comprehensive decision-making under the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework. The EU INSIGHT project addresses this challenge by developing a novel computational framework for integrated impact assessment, based on the Impact Outcome Pathway (IOP) approach. Extending the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) concept, IOPs establish mechanistic links between chemical and material properties and their environmental, health, and socio-economic consequences. The project integrates multi-source datasets (including omics, life cycle inventories, and exposure models) into a structured knowledge graph (KG), ensuring FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles are met. INSIGHT is being developed and validated through four case studies targeting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), graphene oxide (GO), bio-based synthetic amorphous silica (SAS), and antimicrobial coatings. These studies demonstrate how multi-model simulations, decision-support tools, and artificial intelligence-driven knowledge extraction can enhance the predictability and interpretability of chemical and material impacts. Additionally, INSIGHT incorporates interactive, web-based decision maps to provide stakeholders with accessible, regulatory-compliant risk and sustainability assessments. By bridging mechanistic toxicology, exposure modeling, life cycle assessment, and socio-economic analysis, INSIGHT advances a scalable, transparent, and data-driven approach to SSbD. This project aligns with the European Green Deal and global sustainability goals, promoting safer, more sustainable innovation in chemicals and materials through an integrated, mechanistic, and computationally advanced framework.

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Publication Details

Journal
Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
Published
2025-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2025.03.042
Citations
9
Primary Topic
Chemical Safety and Risk Management
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
52.09

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article

INSIGHT: An integrated framework for safe and sustainable chemical and material assessment

Laura Aliisa Saarimäki, Emanuele Di Lieto, Dimitrios Zouraris, Andreas Tsoumanis et al.
9 citations
Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
Chemical Safety and Risk Management
52.09
article

INSIGHT: An integrated framework for safe and sustainable chemical and material assessment

Laura Aliisa Saarimäki, Emanuele Di Lieto, Dimitrios Zouraris, Andreas Tsoumanis, L Cristiana Gheorghe, Sébastien Cambier, Antonino Marvuglia, Haralambos Sarimveis, Thomas E. Exner, Romana Petry, Seunggyun Ha, Periklis Tsiros, Dario Greco, Zayakhuu Gerelkhuu, Tomás Navarrete Gutiérrez, Marija Buljan, Dimitris G. Mintis, Francesco Dondero, Alexandra Schaffert, Jack Morikka, S Karakitsios, Rafael Riudavets Puig, Angela Serra, Panagiotis Isigonis, Konstantinos D. Papavasileiou, Lori Bradford, Diego Stéfani T. Martinez, Marcella Torres Maia, Greg Lindner, Georgia Melagraki, Dimitra‐Danai Varsou, Martin Paparella, Tae Hyun Yoon, Seung-Geun Park, Achilleas Karakoltzidis, Fotini Nikiforou, Philip Doganis, Tommaso Serchi, Panagiotis D. Kolokathis, David A. Winkler, Peter Wick, Jacques‐Aurélien Sergent, Iseult Lynch, Steffi Friedrichs, Antreas Afantitis, Christian Seitz, Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg, Dimosthenis Sarigiannis, Vasileios Minadakis, Ishita Virmani, Giannis Savvas, Haralampos Tzoupis, Stefano Cucurachi, Alex Arvanitidis, Adrien Perello-Y-Bestard
article en
9 citations

Abstract

The assessment of chemicals and materials has traditionally been fragmented, with health, environmental, social, and economic impacts evaluated independently. This disjointed approach limits the ability to capture trade-offs and synergies necessary for comprehensive decision-making under the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework. The EU INSIGHT project addresses this challenge by developing a novel computational framework for integrated impact assessment, based on the Impact Outcome Pathway (IOP) approach. Extending the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) concept, IOPs establish mechanistic links between chemical and material properties and their environmental, health, and socio-economic consequences. The project integrates multi-source datasets (including omics, life cycle inventories, and exposure models) into a structured knowledge graph (KG), ensuring FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles are met. INSIGHT is being developed and validated through four case studies targeting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), graphene oxide (GO), bio-based synthetic amorphous silica (SAS), and antimicrobial coatings. These studies demonstrate how multi-model simulations, decision-support tools, and artificial intelligence-driven knowledge extraction can enhance the predictability and interpretability of chemical and material impacts. Additionally, INSIGHT incorporates interactive, web-based decision maps to provide stakeholders with accessible, regulatory-compliant risk and sustainability assessments. By bridging mechanistic toxicology, exposure modeling, life cycle assessment, and socio-economic analysis, INSIGHT advances a scalable, transparent, and data-driven approach to SSbD. This project aligns with the European Green Deal and global sustainability goals, promoting safer, more sustainable innovation in chemicals and materials through an integrated, mechanistic, and computationally advanced framework.

Computational and Structural Biotechnology JournalVol. 29
Leiden University (NL), Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” (IT), University of Helsinki (FI), University of Nottingham (GB), Innsbruck Medical University (AT), Tampere University of Applied Sciences (FI), Solvay (Belgium) (BE), National Technical University of Athens (GR), La Trobe University (AU), Evonik (Germany) (DE), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR), Hellenic Military Academy (GR), Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories (BE), Ljubljana Passenger Transport (SI), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (NL), Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LU), Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (GR), NovaMechanics (Cyprus) (CY), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (BR), Hanyang University (KR), Monash University (AU), Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (CH), University of Birmingham (GB)
UK Research and Innovation, European Commission, National Research Foundation, National Research Foundation of Korea, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation
Responsible consumption and production
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Chemical Safety and Risk Management
52.09
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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