Risk assessment of food contact materials.

Food Contact Materials (FCMs), such as plastics, papers, ceramics and inks used in food packaging, containers, kitchen utensils and tableware are subject to scrutiny due to their potential to release toxic compounds into food. In the European Union, materials and articles intended for contact with food must adhere to stringent safety regulations and novel materials not explicitly covered by existing legislation require individual risk assessment. This project focused on the assessment of the genotoxic potential of two substances used in FCMs, specifically neodecanoic acid (NDA) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), for which data gaps have been identified in genotoxicity studies.

Genotoxicity assessment: opportunities, challenges and perspectives for quantitative evaluations of dose-response data.

Genotoxicity data are mainly interpreted in a qualitative way, which typically results in a binary classification of chemical entities. For more than a decade, there has been a discussion about the need for a paradigm shift in this regard. Here, we review current opportunities, challenges and perspectives for a more quantitative approach to genotoxicity assessment.

Conducting ITO Nanoparticle-Based Aerogels-Nonaqueous One-Pot Synthesis vs. Particle Assembly Routes.

Indium tin oxide (ITO) aerogels offer a combination of high surface area, porosity and conductive properties and could therefore be a promising material for electrodes in the fields of batteries, solar cells and fuel cells, as well as for optoelectronic applications. In this study, ITO aerogels were synthesized via two different approaches, followed by critical point drying (CPD) with liquid CO. During the nonaqueous one-pot sol-gel synthesis in benzylamine (BnNH), the ITO nanoparticles arranged to form a gel, which could be directly processed into an aerogel via solvent exchange, followed by CPD.

Risk assessment of food contact materials.

In the EU, any material or article intended to come into contact with food, which is placed on the market, has to comply with the requirements of the Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 - the so called 'framework regulation' for food contact materials (FCM). FCM covers a wide range of materials, including plastics, paper, metal and glass, which contain chemicals that might migrate into food. These chemicals must not migrate into the foodstuff in quantities that could endanger human health, bring about an unacceptable change in the composition of the food, or bring about a deterioration in the organoleptic characteristics thereof.

One year of COVID-19 pandemic: Health care workers' infection rates and economical burden in medical facilities for oral and maxillofacial surgery.

The aim of this study was to create an overview on the COVID-associated burdens faced by the oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) workforce during 1 year of the pandemic. OMS hospitals and private practices nationwide were surveyed regarding health care worker (HCW) screening, infection status, pre-interventional testing, personal protective equipment (PPE), and economic impact. Participants were recruited via the German Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.