New guidelines to standardise toxicity testing for nanomaterials

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published methods that are specifically designed to assess the toxicity and environmental impacts of nanoparticles – a project that has taken over a decade. Three new test guidelines have been produced by the OECD’s working party on manufactured nanomaterials, which was formed in 2006. Two describe inhalation toxicity studies that can be done on rodents over 28 days or 90 days, and the other details ways to measure the dispersal of nanoparticles in the environment.