{"id":643,"date":"2021-06-14T13:43:06","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T13:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nanoculture.ciimar.up.pt\/?p=643"},"modified":"2022-03-18T13:42:05","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T13:42:05","slug":"newsletter-june-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nanoculture.ciimar.up.pt\/?p=643","title":{"rendered":"Newsletter – June 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the NANOCULTURE project newsletter<\/strong>
\n#2\u00a0JUNE 2021<\/strong><\/h3>\n

NANOCULTURE<\/span><\/p>\n

Risk assessment and mitigation of the presence of engineered NANOmaterials in Atlantic aquaCULTURE<\/span><\/p>\n

NANOCULTURE aims to provide knowledge (and tools) on the presence and effects of the most-used nanoparticles (TiO2<\/sub>\u00a0and Ag) in common Atlantic Area aquaculture products (turbot, mussels, seaweed); and will assess the human risk of exposure by oral intake of these products.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Previous events<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Webinars:\u00a0<\/strong>Nanoparticles in aquaculture: is it something to worry about?<\/em>
\nDate: 16th\u00a0and 18th February 2021<\/p>\n

In February, the NANOCULTURE partners organized the second edition of the project Webinars. The event, entitled Nanoparticles in aquaculture: is it something to worry about?, was divided into one French-speaking session and one Portuguese speaking session. The participants of the online streaming sessions, which numbered close to 100 people, came from distinct domains, including not only academic researchers and professionals from the aquaculture industry, retail or regulatory entities but also the general public.<\/span><\/p>\n

The opening speakers for the sessions were Dr. Marie-H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Ropers, a Research Scientist at the French National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, INRAE and Dr. Narcisa Bandarra, Head of Aquaculture and Upgrading Division at the Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA). The video recordings of all project webinars are available at the NANOCULTURE\u00a0<\/span>website<\/a>\u00a0and at the\u00a0<\/span>youtube channel<\/a>\u00a0of the project.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Conference participations<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aquaculture Europe 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

12th-15th April 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

Aquaculture Europe 2020 (AE2020) is an annual event organized by the European Aquaculture Society.\u00a0This online event gathered scientists and exhibitors in a virtual \u201ce-market\u201d. Close to 500 communications were divided into 18 sessions covering interesting and diverse topics including nutrition, fish welfare, product quality, among many others.\u00a0The NANOCULTURE consortium participated in this event with three communications in the sessions \u201cProduct Quality, Value and Markets\u201d and \u201cGenomic Research, Tools and Applications\u201d, and presented some of the latest results achieved in the project related with proteomics and effects of nanoparticles in turbot.<\/p>\n

The Aquaculture Europe upcoming event will take place in Madeira between 4th and 7th October and will also count on the participation of the NANOCULTURE team!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

EuroNanoForum 2021<\/strong>
5th-6th May 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

The EuroNanoForum is Europe\u2019s largest networking conference focusing on nanotechnologies and advanced materials science, innovation and business. This event was organized by NANOCULTURE coordinator INL. The 2021 edition conference had the support of the European Commission, the Nanotechnology Industries Association, the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) and the Portuguese Innovation Agency (ANI). The conference gathered a total of 3640 participants from over 140 countries. The participants attended the presentations of renowned plenary speakers and several hours of sessions about distinct nanotechnology related topics, namely Climate, environment and natural resources, Health and wellbeing and Market access of nanomaterials, regulations, standards and characterization among others.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

NANOCULTURE partner<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In each NANOCULTURE newsletter, we will introduce you to one of the project partners. In this edition, the chosen partner is INL, the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory.\u00a0<\/span>
INL is a leading research and advanced training institution on nanotechnology innovation. <\/span><\/p>\n

INL is well equipped with cutting edge equipment in its facilities located in Braga, Portugal. The INL resources include cleanrooms, advanced microscopy and spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scattering techniques, photonics and bioimaging and magnetic resonance imaging, among many others. The INL has more than 330 staff and researchers from over 30 different nationalities that work on over 200 national and international projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Bego\u00f1a Espi\u00f1a from the INL is responsible for the coordination of the NANOCULTURE project. She is the Leader of the Water quality group within the Department of Life Sciences. Dr. Espi\u00f1a focuses her research on developing portable and remote biosensors and devices based on nanomaterials for the selective capture of water chemical contaminants as well as developing methods for nanomaterials\u2019 fate, bioaccumulation and toxicity with special emphasis in implementing the safety-by-design concept.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can find more information about INL at the\u00a0<\/span>institution website<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>promotional video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

NANOCULTURE achievements<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Portable sensors for nanoparticle detection<\/strong><\/p>\n

The development of portable sensors for nanoparticles is one of the objectives of NANOCULTURE. One application of such sensors is monitoring nanoparticles in the environment; however, there are three main challenges to accomplish this goal: (1) the miniaturization of the instrument; (2) the matrix interferences, which compromise the robustness, selectivity and sensitivity and (3) the detection limits should be in the range of the environmental concentrations of nanomaterials. NANOCULTURE consortium is committed in developing a sensor based on Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for quantification of titanium dioxide and silver. This sensing module will be coupled to a sample preparation module, which will pre-concentrate the nanoparticles improving the detection. The proof-of-concept has been tested, allowing good correlations with concentrations of nanoparticles even in artificial seawater at ppm concentrations. The consortium is now working on improving the sensitivity and integration of the sensor on a chip.<\/div>\n



Interaction of the silver nanoparticles with SERS substrate (indicated by yellow arrows) developed recently by NANOCULTURE consortium.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

NANO news<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

EFSA: Titanium dioxide unsafe for food additives<\/span><\/p>\n

Recently<\/a>, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has updated its safety assessment of the food additive titanium dioxide (E171), following a request by the European Commission. The EFSA expert Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF) concluded that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered a safe food additive. Scientific studies and data revealed genotoxicity and accumulation along time in the body of consumers are the main concerns of the Panel. The safe level for daily intake of titanium dioxide as a food additive cannot be established and there is a high level of uncertainty on the composition of the materials used in this type of food additive. Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles are present in E171. These nanoparticles are one of the targeted nanomaterials studied by NANOCULTURE. Relevant information on exposure levels, and biological effects of these particles to commercial aquaculture species, and also consumers, are aimed by the project.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Upcoming events<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to current COVID-19 pandemic situation, many conferences and events are being postponed or are going partially or fully online. See below our suggestions and updates on the main events for 2021.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Aquaculture America 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

August 11-14, 2021. Texas (USA)<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0https:\/\/www.was.org\/meeting\/code\/AA2021<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

SEAFOOD EXPO (Traders\u2018 Fair)<\/strong><\/p>\n

September 7-9, 2021. Barcelona (Spain)<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0https:\/\/www.seafoodexpo.com\/global\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

NANOMEET2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

September 13-15, 2021. Porto (Portugal)<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0https:\/\/www.albedomeetings.com\/nanomeet\/index.php<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

AQUACULTURE EUROPE 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

October 4-7, 2021, Funchal, Madeira (Portugal)<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0https:\/\/aquaeas.org\/Meeting\/AE2021<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

SETAC North America<\/strong><\/p>\n

November 14-18, 2021. Portland (USA)<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0https:\/\/portland.setac.org\/
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