On April 29, 2021, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “Biotransformation of nanomaterials while transferring in the food chain” by Dr. Fazel A. Monikh.  As the application of nanomaterials increases, more of these materials are released in the environment.  Monikh states that some nanomaterials that are persistent in the environment raise concerns as they can enter organisms’ bodies, accumulate in their organs, and transfer through different trophic levels in food chains.  With the help of his collaborators and the support of the EU’s Horizon 2020, Monikh developed “a sensitive workflow to trace and characterize nanomaterials in organisms’ bodies.”  According to Monikh, these methods and techniques allow him to analyze and count the number of nanomaterials in organisms’ tissues and cells and to understand their behavior in organisms and their trophic transfer through food chains.  Monikh suggests that adopting the safe-by-design strategy could be a potential solution to balance the benefits and the possible ecological effects of nanomaterials.  Monikh states that the aim of his research is to support designing safe nanomaterials by understanding the possible effects of these materials in the environment and in organisms.

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