The project NANO-CATHEDRAL aims at developing, with a nano-metric scale approach, new materials, technologies and procedures for the conservation of deteriorated stones in monumental buildings and cathedrals and high value contemporary architecture, with a particular emphasis on the preservation of the originality and specificity of materials. The objective is providing “key tools” for restoration and conservation: •On representative lithotypes •On European representative climatic areas •With a time-scale/environmental approach •With technology validated in relevant environment (industrial plant and monuments) •Exploiting results also on modern stone made buildings A general protocol will be defined for the identification of the petrographic and mineralogical features of the stone materials, the identification of the degradation patterns, the evaluation of the causes and mechanisms of alteration and degradation, including the correlations between the relevant state of decay and the actual microclimatic and air pollution conditions. Moreover, innovative nano-materials will be developed suitable for: •Surface consolidation: in this case water-based formulations based on nano-inorganic or nano-hybrid dispersions such as nano-silica, nano-titania, nano-hydroxyapatite, nano-calcite and nano-magnesia as well as their synergic combinations with organic and inorganic compounds will be considered. •Surface protection: in this case, innovative composites will be developed consisting of polymers and nano-fillers. The use of hydrophobins, nano-assembled hydrofobic proteins extracted from fungi, and photocatalytic nano-particles (for favoring the decomposition of volatile organic molecules carried by polluted atmosphere and to prevent biofilm growth) will be considered. The project will contribute to the development of transnational cultural tourism and to the development of common European shared values and heritage, thus stimulating a greater sense of European identity.

BIORIMA stands for Biomaterial Risk Management. BIORIMA aims to develop an integrated risk management (IRM) framework for nano-biomaterials (NBM) used in Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products (ATMP) and Medical Devices (MD). The BIORIMA RM framework is a structure upon which the validated tools and methods for materials, exposure, hazard and risk identification/assessment and management are allocated plus a rationale for selecting and using them to manage and reduce the risk for specific NBM used in ATMP and MD. Specifically, the IRM framework will consist of: (i) Risk Management strategies and systems, based on validated methodologies, tools, and guidance, for monitoring and reducing the risks together with methods for evaluating them; (ii) Validated methodologies and tools to identify the potential Exposure and Hazard posed by NBM to humans and the environment; (iii) A strategy for Intelligent Testing (ITS) and Tiered Risk Assessment for NBM used in ATMP and MD. BIORIMA workplan consists of 7 workpackages covering the major themes: Materials, Exposure, Hazard and Risk. BIORIMA will generate methods and tools for these themes for use in risk evaluation and reduction. The BIORIMA toolbox will consist of validated methods/tools for materials synthesis; reference materials bank; methods for human/environment exposure assessment and monitoring; (eco)-toxicology testing protocols; methods for prevention of accidental risks – massive release or explosion – A tiered risk assessment method for humans/environment; An intelligent testing strategy for NBM and risk reduction measures, including the safer-by-design approach. BIORIMA will deliver a web-based Decision Support System to help users, especially SME, evaluate the risk/benefit profile of their NBM products and help to shorten the time to market for NBM products.

The aim of CoACH (Advanced glasses, Composites And Ceramics for High growth Industries) is to offer a multidisciplinary training in the field of high-tech GLASSES, CERAMICS and COMPOSITES based on effective and proven industry-academia cooperation. Our scientific goals are to develop advanced knowledge on glass and ceramic based materials and to develop innovative, cost-competitive, and environmentally acceptable materials and processing technologies. The inter/multi-disciplinary and -sectorial characteristic is guaranteed by the presence of 5 academic partners and 10 companies having top class expertise in glass, ceramic and composite science and technology, modelling, design, characterization and commercialization. Advanced materials fall within the KEY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES (KETs) and are themselves an emerging supra-disciplinary field; expertise on these new materials brings competitiveness in the strategic thematic areas of: HEALTH-innovative glass and composite for biomedical applications, ENERGY-innovative glass, ceramic and composite materials for energy harvesting/scavenging, solid oxide electrolysis cells and oil, gas and petrochemical industries, ICT-new glass fibre sensors embedded in smart coatings for harsh environment, ENVIRONMENT-new and low cost glass, ceramic and composite materials from waste. The originality of the research programme is to be seen in the supra-disciplinary approach to new glass- and ceramic- based materials and their applications: recruited researchers will benefit from a complete set of equipment and expertise enabling them to develop advanced knowledge in KETs and strategic thematic areas for the EU and to convert it into products for economic and social benefit. The effective research methodology used by the partners and the mutual exploitation of their complementary competences have been successfully experienced in the past in long term common research cooperation and in on-going common projects, including a Marie Curie ITN

Although previous EU funded projects have defined tools and concepts to ensure safety of nano-enabled products through design, many hurdles still hinder the implementation of these procedures in real production processes. ASINA will use the production value chains (VCs) of two representative categories of nano-enabled products (NEPs): coatings in environmental (clean) nanotechnology and nano-encapsulating systems in cosmetics, to formulate design hypothesis and make design decisions by applying a data-driven approach and methodology (the “ASINA-SMM”). Molded on industrial six sigma practices, the ASINA-SMM can be easily adopted by manufactures to deliver NEPs designed to be as safe as possible, so achieving ASINA vision to increase stakeholders (entrepreneurs, scientists, regulators, innovators, policy makers, consumers) confidence in SbD nanomanufacturing. The methodology encompasses distinct phases that ASINA will follow to deliver SbD solutions and supporting tools, at TRL6: define NEP, its intended use, production technologies and known quality, safety and cost requirements; measure performance attributes (techno-economic features, hazard and exposure potential along the entire life cycle) in relation to material (M) and process (P) design options; analyse data gathered from internal and external sources and derive/combine response functions, to identify the best compromise between possible design options; design new versions of the product/process that minimise risk, maximising performance; establish a pilot action to verify the capacity of ASINA-SMM to deliver practical, relevant, reliable and reproducible M- or P-SbD solutions. By its end, ASINA will provide a roadmap to generalise ASINA-SMM, and maximizing the positive impacts of further products, designed to improve environmental quality and human health/wellness, offering the transparency required to promote consumer acceptance and, as a consequence, the growth of reference industrial sectors.