NABIHEAL’s SSbD Concept at NanoMed Europe

From 27-30 May 2025, BNN’s Johanna K. Scheper and Daniel Garcia were able to present the Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design approach that is under implementation in NABIHEAL to the community at NanoMed Europe (NME2025) in Barcelona.

Co-organized by the European Technology Platform of Nanomedicine (ETPN), the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), and Nanomed Spain (the Spanish Technological Platform of Nanomedicine), NanoMed Europe 2025 offered a rich program of scientific lectures and sessions focused on translating innovations in the nanomedicine field to the clinic, from medical devices to nanopharmaceuticals.

Within the EU-funded project NABIHEAL, focused on the development of alternative metal-free wound dressings with antimicrobial and wound-healing activity, BNN leads the task of implementation of the Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) approach for all (nano)materials and processes developed within the project. The methodology applied by the project advances scientific knowledge and innovation and upholds principles crucial for safe and sustainable biomedical research by integrating SSbD principles throughout the whole innovation process. The approach of this work covers project-tailored SSbD implementation, following a tiered and hierarchical approach aligned with the JRC SSbD framework. Tailored questionnaires on (i) materials used/produced and (ii) for production and manufacturing processes have been developed at the start of the project and are implemented and reviewed at different times during the project lifetime. The approach includes the formulation of specific recommendations to follow as well as comparison to standard-of-care wound care materials.

Photo from left: Daniel Garcia and Johanna K. Scheper of BNN