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Systems toxicology to advance human and environmental hazard assessment: A roadmap for advanced materials

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  • M.J.B. Amorim, University of Aveiro
  • ,
  • W. Peijnenburg, Leiden University
  • ,
  • D. Greco, University of Helsinki
  • ,
  • L.A. Saarimäki, University of Helsinki
  • ,
  • V.I. Dumit, Federal Institute for Risk Assessment
  • ,
  • A. Bahl, Federal Institute for Risk Assessment
  • ,
  • A. Haase
  • L. Tran, University of Edinburgh
  • ,
  • J. Hackermüller, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
  • ,
  • S. Canzler, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
  • ,
  • J.J. Scott-Fordsmand
Ideally, a Systems Toxicology (ST) approach is aimed at by (eco)toxicologists, i.e. a multidisciplinary area incorporating classical toxicological concepts with omics technologies, and the understanding of this through computational data sciences, chemistry, mathematics, and physics modelling. As outlined in several public reports (e.g. from ECHA-European Chemical Agency and EFSA-European Food Safety Authority), the way forward in the coming years in Europe is to integrate New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) (including omics technologies) into hazard and hence risk assessment (RA). Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) describe a sequence of events in response to stress, from the molecular initiating event until an adverse outcome, which is relevant to RA or regulatory decision-making. AOPs are one of the facilitators to integrate mechanistic data into RA, but it is urgent to increase the inclusion of the vast mechanistic knowledge available, especially for the RA of novel smart and advanced materials (AdMa) with multifunctional characteristics. There are still many challenges to the routine usage of NAMs, e.g. omics-based information. Here, we summarise the current state of the art of ST, the benefits of human and environmental health cross knowledge and the available methods and output. The importance of this area has been highlighted for many years but is even more pressing in the context of AdMa. Furthermore, we outline the challenges and suggest recommendations for future implementation.
Original languageEnglish
Article number101735
JournalNano Today
Volume48
Number of pages18
ISSN1748-0132
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2023

    Research areas

  • Advanced materials (AdMa), Smart materials, Adverse outcome pathways (AOP), Risk assessment, New approach methodologies (NAMs), Omics

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