2021 ANNUAL REPORT | Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials

The promise of nanotechnology lies in its potential to help us address real challenges such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and global warming. Massive R&D funds and efforts are being invested to advance these new technologies, some of which matured and are already in widespread use. Nanoparticles, for example, are used in sunscreen and other cosmetics to help with rapid and efficient absorption into our skin. Silver nanoparticles are used in food packaging, athletic clothing and fur dolls to prevent the growth of mold and bacteria. Yet another example is the use of carbon nanoparticles in filters to purify and decontaminate water. But what do we know about the potential hazards of these technologies, and how can we assess and manage their risks while the technology is still in development? Questions like these, of risk management and regulation, are at the center of the collaboration between BINA and BIU’s Faculty of Law. BINA’s faculty brings to the table the chemical, engineering and technological expertise and the jurists bring their knowledge of legal policy and regulation. “In one of our initial projects, my PhD student Eyal Razi Yanuv and I teamed up with BINA’s director Prof. Dror Fixler and Prof. Anat Tchetchik of BIU’s Department of Geography and Environment. Our idea was to run BINA’s state-of-the-art equipment to assess degradability and to measure potential contamination of food by silver nanoparticles in the packaging and Regulatory Governance and Advanced Sciences: Evidence-Based Policy then evaluate the regulatory procedures needed to prevent exposure to health hazards that might arise when the food is consumed,” says Prof. Oren Perez. He emphasizes that assessment in such cases should take place long before any actual use is authorized, in the initial stages of development, an approach known as safety by design. “The critical role of regulation and policy in the realization of new ideas or technology is often underestimated outside the legal world. Working closely together with BINA’s faculty, we are seeking to establish a smart, data-driven process of risk assessment and management that can be implemented even under conditions of technological uncertainty, when science can’t give us a full account of the hazards associated with a new technology,” Prof. Perez says. “Scientists, entrepreneurs and governments must all join forces and think ahead to find solutions to practical problems and policy challenges.” This approach is evident in a recent strategic research proposal that Prof. Perez submitted, together with Prof. Lior Elbaz of BINA and BIU’s Department of Chemistry, to Israel’s Ministry of Energy for funding; their project focuses on the challenges Israel should anticipate as it moves toward a hydrogen economy. Prof. Elbaz, who completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States, develops fuel cells that run on hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen-oxygen reaction generates 34

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