Safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) for nanotechnology: scientific foundations, global policy perspectives, and industrial practice
Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) is emerging as a transformative framework for integrating safety and sustainability with functionality in nanotechnology. This review provides a unified perspective on SSbD, bridging its scientific foundations, global policy developments, and industrial implementation. We highlight how advances in mechanistic understanding of nanomaterial-biological interactions enable earlier and more predictive safety assessment, supporting informed material design. At the policy level, evolving regulatory and governance approaches across regions are shaping the integration of sustainability and safety requirements. From an industrial perspective, SSbD is driving innovation in material substitution, process optimization, and lifecycle-oriented design. Despite this progress, challenges remain in standardization, data integration, and alignment between regulatory frameworks and industrial practice. This work positions SSbD as a central paradigm for enabling responsible innovation and accelerating the transition toward safer and more sustainable nanotechnologies.
Authors
- Spyros Karakitsios
- Eva‐Kathrin Schillinger
- Seung-Geun Park
- Thomas E. Exner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1849-5246)
- Michele Fratello (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3997-2339)
- Dario Greco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9195-9003)
- Martin Himly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5416-085X)
- Zayakhuu Gerelkhuu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5132-2703)
- Dimitris G. Mintis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3002-951X)
- Francesco Dondero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7945-3712)
- Candida Lorusso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1785-7575)
- Angela Serra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3374-1492)
- Panagiotis Isigonis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8404-7708)
- Diego Stéfani T. Martinez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0086-3055)
- Anna Pohl
- Giusy del Giudice (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0999-4796)
- Dimitra‐Danai Varsou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7474-7014)
- Anastasios G. Papadiamantis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1297-3104)
- Fotini Nikiforou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9264-0431)
- Tommaso Serchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2386-3514)
- Byung-Tae Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4554-897X)
- Peter Wick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0079-4344)
- Steffi Friedrichs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7276-892X)
- Antreas Afantitis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0977-8180)
- Yang-won Suh
- Dimosthenis Andreas Sarigiannis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2514-314X)
- Ariadna Acedo-Terrades (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3222-7086)
- Vasileios Minadakis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2521-4432)
- Ishita Virmani
- Sang Hee LEE (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2773-4755)
- Tae Hyun Yoon
- Iseult Lynch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4250-4584)
- Aline Maria Zigiotto de Medeiros
- Marcella Torres Maia
- Seong-Kwan Kim
- Haralambos Sarimveis
- Hyeonsoo Eom
- Achilleas Karakoltzidis
Institutions
- Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” (IT)
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- Innsbruck Medical University (AT)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Tampere University (FI)
- National Technical University of Athens (GR)
- University of Salzburg (AT)
- Universität Innsbruck (AT)
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR)
- Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori di Pavia (IT)
- Yale University (US)
- Frederick University (CY)
- Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- Korea Environment Institute (KR)
- Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LU)
- National Hellenic Research Foundation (GR)
- NovaMechanics (Cyprus) (CY)
- Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (BR)
- University of Tampere (FI)
- Hanyang University (KR)
- National Institute of Environmental Research (KR)
- Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (CH)
- University of Birmingham (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nano Convergence
- Published
- 2026-10-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s40580-026-00583-9
- Primary Topic
- Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- European Commission
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
- Hanyang University
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
- Innovate UK
- Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation
- Institute for Information and Communications Technology Promotion