On 3 and 4 November 2025, iCARE joined MACRAMÉ, nanoPASS, and DESIDERATA for the third edition of their joint online workshop on harmonisation and standardisation of test methods for nanomaterials and advanced materials. The two-day event drew researchers, regulatory professionals, industry representatives, and standardisation bodies from across Europe, continuing the work started under the NanoHarmony and NANOMET initiatives.

The programme covered three broad areas: the current state of OECD Test Guidelines and the revised Safe and Sustainable by Design framework; the practical challenges of applying test methods in real industrial and exposure scenarios; and a forward-looking discussion on computational modelling, digital material passports, and the integration of new approach methodologies (NAMs) into regulatory frameworks.

A full session focused on lessons from MACRAMÉ, nanoPASS, and DESIDERATA, and on how their outputs can be picked up by future projects and initiatives. TEMAS Solutions, a key iCARE partner, chaired sessions and contributed directly to discussions on testing applicability and standardisation — areas central to iCARE's pre-validation work, SOP development, and grouping and read-across strategies.

As iCARE moves into its final months ahead of the December 2026 close, events like this are where project results move from research into practice.

The full agenda and available presentations are listed below.

Workshop Agenda

Day 1 — 3 November 2025

Session I: Landscape of Harmonisation and Standardisation for Risk Assessment of Advanced Materials
Chair: Blanca Suarez Merino (TEMAS Solutions)

• OECD Perspective on the current Test Guidelines Programme — Mar Gonzalez (OECD), presented by Erik Bleeker (RIVM) | [Presentation]
• ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies: Bridging Research and Standards — Charles Clifford (NPL) |
• The Revised EC Safe and Sustainable by Design Framework — Irantzu Garmendia (JRC) | [Presentation]
• Round table: OECD Test Guidelines and Standards for Advanced Materials and SSbD — Moderated by Blanca Suarez Merino (TEMAS Solutions)

Session II: Applicability of Test Methods in Real-Life Use and Exposure Scenarios
Chair: Elise Morel (TEMAS Solutions)

• Practical issues applying safety testing methods — Blanca Suarez Merino (TEMAS Solutions) |
• Characterising and sampling industrial airborne materials — Christina Isaxon (Lund University) | [Presentation]
• Detection and inhalation hazard assessment of graphene-enabled advanced material composites: lessons from MACRAMÉ — Govind Gupta (EMPA) |
• DESIDERATA use cases: applied test methods for exposure and safety assessment — Panagiotis Isigonis (LIST) | [Presentation]
  Tracing the journey: from controlled cell exposure to imaging of cellular uptake — Carla Ribalta & Maike Stange (BAuA) | [Presentation]
• A macrophage-based in vitro method for the risk assessment of advanced materials — Martin Wiemann (IBE) | [Presentation]
• Dry powder exposure for in vitro assessment of airway toxicity; the use of OMICs for regulation — Rob Vandebriel (RIVM) |
  Round table discussion — Elise Morel (TEMAS Solutions)

Day 2 — 4 November 2025

Session III: Project Legacy and Lessons Learned
Chair: Sean Kelly (NIA)

• MACRAMÉ: legacy and lessons learned — Anna Pohl (BAuA) | [Presentation]
• Lessons from nanoPASS on standardising a NAM — Iztok Urbančič (University of Slovenia) | [Presentation]
• DESIDERATA: building on the foundations of the MACRAMÉ and iCARE legacy — Alberto Katsumiti (GAIKER) | [Presentation]
• Round table: which projects could carry forward the developed methods and lessons learned? — Moderated by Sean Kelly (NIA)

Session IV: Where Do We Go from Here?
Chair: Erik Bleeker (RIVM)

• Computational modelling and emerging challenges — Vladimir Lobaskin (UCD) | [Presentation]
• Learning from Sunshine: regulatory preparedness of REACH for multi-component nanomaterials — Neil Hunt (Yordas UK) | [Presentation]
• Life after release: grouping materials by their environmental identity — Iseult Lynch (University of Birmingham) | [Presentation]
• Digital Material and Product Passports for exchanging safety information along the value chain — Thomas Exner (7P9) | [Presentation]
• Integrating NAMs into nanomaterial risk assessment: towards a qualification system for non-guideline methods in the food/feed sector — Susanne
• Bremer-Hoffmann (JRC) | [Presentation]
• Round table: What next? — Moderated by Erik Bleeker (RIVM)