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November 2020 / 41 NANOTECHNOLOGY NIOSH releases 3D printing safety guidelines The National Institute for Safety and Health (NIOSH) released two new posters about 3D print- ing safety. The new guidelines are a result of a joint study with the EPA on the impact of harmful emissions produced during the 3D printing process. The National Institute of Standards and Technol- ogy are also researching 3D printer nanomaterials. The warning posters discuss different emission control options available and offer information on reducing exposure to potentially harmful materials and emissions. Issued by the NIOSH Nanotechnol- ogy Research Center, the posters warn that users who print with filaments should use polylactic acid filament rather than acrylonitrile butadiene styrene when possible. The posters also caution against using filaments with additives and having high-frequency, long- duration printing sessions. Additional 3D printing safety concerns include skin contact with or inhalation of volatile organic chemicals and printing particu- lates. For a copy of the posters, visit www.cdc.gov/niosh. New method developed to capture microplastics Researchers at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have created a new method of preventing microplastics from entering water- ways. These very small particles are usually only detected once they have accumulated inside fish, but a new method allows particles to be captured before entering the water. Researchers used nanocellulose films and hydrogels to identify and capture these microplastic particles. "Nanocellulose has a mesh-like, porous structure and a large BET tice. The number of bonds between the grains is much smaller than those between the atoms of the same part of a crystal lattice. As a result, the calculations with grains are much faster than with atoms." In future experiments, the research group plans to introduce deformable grains to help correctly calculate small and large defor- mations in material. Researchers suggest the proposed approach could be used for other laws of atomic interaction and different types of grains. Company develops cellulose nanofiber using vegetable oil Green Science Alliance, a researcher and manufacturer of environmen- tally friendly chemical products, created nanocellulose dispersion using various types of vegetable oil. Created with olive oil, sesame oil, castor oil, and soybean oil, the nanocellulose dispersion can be used to create cellulose nanofiber, a low-weight, high-strength material that's recyclable and biodegradable. The nanocellulose is completely composed of natural biomass and will be used to develop cosmetics, paints, color products, medical sup- plies, electronic materials, and more. [Brunauer–Emmett–Teller] surface area," says Tekla Tammelin, VTT research professor. "In the water, powerful capillary forces are gen- erated in this structure, allowing particles to be transported inside the mesh and bound there." The new method can catch microplastic particles with a diam- eter of just 100 nanometers. The research was part of the FinnCERES project, which explores new bio- based material solutions, and VTT hopes to create inexpensive filtra- tion systems using the new method. Researchers propose new method for efficient nanomaterial modeling According to an article in the Mechanics Research Communica- tions journal, researchers from the Higher School of Theoretical Mechanics of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) and Tel Aviv University have developed a new method to improve the efficiency of modeling material processes at a nanoscale. Researchers call this new approach crucial for the advancement of nan- otechnology. The team investigated single-layer molybdenum disul- fide (SLMoS 2 ), a two-dimensional material with several promising applications, such as miniature sen- sors, nanodevices, and others. Current methods use com- putational mechanics to design engineering devices. However, these methods are either invalid or too time-consuming when work- ing with material at a nanoscale. To develop the new method of nano- material modeling, researchers proposed combining the atoms of SLMoS 2 into imaginary rigid grains. According to the article, "The laws of interaction between the grains were fitted to fulfill the elastic properties of the original crystal lat-