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Electron microscopy (EM) is the gold standard for the characterisation of the morphology (size and shape) of nanoparticles. Visual observation of objects under examination is always a necessary first step in the characterisation process. Several questions arise when undertaking to identify and count particles to measure their size and shape distribution. In addition to challenges with the dispersion and identification of the particles, more than one protocol for counting particles is in use. This paper focuses on precise rules for the counting of particles in EM micrographs, as this influences the measurement accuracy of the number of particles, thus implicitly affecting the size values of the counted particles. We review and compare four different, commonly used methods for counting, which we then apply in case studies. The impact of the selected counting rule on the obtained final particle size distribution is highlighted. One main aim of this analysis is to support the application of a specific, well-defined counting approach in accordance with regulatory
requirements to contribute to achieving more reliable and reproducible results. It is also useful for the new harmonised measurement procedures for determining the particle size and particle size distribution of nanomaterials.
The Sponsorship Programme for the Testing of Manufactured Nanomaterials (further referred to as “the Testing Programme”) was concluded in March 2013, and the publication of the dossiers via the OECD website (www.oecd.org/science/nanosafety) started in June 2015. As indicated in the “Guidance manual for the testing of manufactured nanomaterials: OECD’s sponsorship programme”, after conclusion of the Testing Programme a next step is to consider “the status, need for, and coordination of further test development”. Parallel to concluding the final stages of the Testing Programme, a series of workshops have taken place, in which for different topics the applicability of existing OECD test guidelines for nanomaterials was discussed and the need for new ones analysed. One workshop focussed on physico-chemical methods, addressing in detail the relevance of each physico-chemical endpoint proposed in the Testing Programme for the regulation of nanomaterials. The methods were discussed in more general terms. However, as most of the proposed endpoints are new to the OECD Test Guidelines Programme, a much more detailed evaluation of the applied methods would
be highly relevant.
To this extent,the Netherlands volunteered to lead an initial detailed evaluation of the applicability of the test methods applied to determine the physico-chemical properties of different types of nanomaterials in the Testing Programme. This initial focus on physico-chemical properties was prompted by the essential need for an adequate and complete characterisation of nanomaterials to enable a further evaluation of their (toxicological) properties.
A number of experts from several delegations volunteered to review and evaluate the methods applied to determine the physico-chemical properties of the nanomaterials in the Testing Programme.