Frank von der Kammer leads OECD’s New Global Guideline for Testing Nanomaterial Dissolution
The OECD has adopted a new Test Guideline for the determination of the solubility and dissolution rate of nanomaterials under environmentally relevant conditions, with Frank von der Kammer from the Department of Environmental Geosciences (EDGE), University of Vienna, serving as lead author and scientific driving force behind its development.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has released Test Guideline No. 322, a standardized method to assess how nanomaterials dissolve and transform in aqueous environments that reflects realistic environmental conditions. The guideline provides a harmonised framework to generate dissolution and solubility data that are essential for understanding the environmental fate of nanomaterials and for regulatory risk assessment.
Developed under the leadership of Frank von der Kammer and his team at the Department of Environmental Geosciences at EDGE, University of Vienna, the guideline was prepared on behalf of the German Federal Environment Agency with support from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. An international interlaboratory comparison, coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, validated the robustness and reproducibility of the method across multiple laboratories.
OECD
Why this guideline matters
Nanomaterials can behave very differently from conventional chemicals once they enter soils, sediments, and water bodies. Whether they stay as stable particles, partially dissolve, or undergo chemical transformation directly affects:
- their mobility in aquatic and terrestrial systems
- their uptake and accumulation in organisms
- their potential to pose environmental risks
Existing OECD test methods largely focus on organic chemicals and were not sufficient to capture these nanospecific processes. Test Guideline No. 322 closes a critical methodological gap by providing a standardised, internationally accepted procedure to quantify dissolution and solubility of nanomaterials under controlled, yet environmentally relevant, conditions. This data is central for regulatory frameworks such as the EU chemicals legislation REACH, which requires manufacturers and importers to demonstrate the safe use of substances, including nanomaterials.
With the new guideline, authorities, industry and researchers gain a practical tool to judge whether a dedicated nanomaterial-specific environmental assessment is needed, and to design safer applications based on quantified dissolution behaviour. This strengthens the scientific and regulatory basis for evaluating nanoforms within existing chemical risk assessment systems.
What the new Test Guideline does
The new guideline explains how to test how much and how quickly nanomaterials dissolve in water under conditions similar to those in nature. To keep results comparable, tests are carried out at normal room temperature and in the dark, using liquids whose acidity (pH) is carefully controlled.
In simple terms, the guideline helps answer:
- How much of a nanomaterial dissolves in water?
- How fast does this happen?
It offers two types of tests – a basic one as well as a more detailed test.
Users choose either the simpler Part A or the more detailed Part B, depending on how much information they need. The guideline also provides ready-made Excel tools that must be used to calculate and present the results in a standardised way.
Contribution of EDGE and Frank von der Kammer
Within the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS), University of Vienna, Frank von der Kammer has long focused on the behaviour and transformation of colloidal and nanoscale particles in natural systems, including the development of experimental and analytical methods tailored to nanomaterial fate processes.1 Building on this expertise, he led the scientific conception, methodological design and drafting of the OECD Test Guideline No. 322, translating advanced research practice into an applicable regulatory standard.
By spearheading this guideline, von der Kammer and the EDGE team have significantly advanced the international toolbox for environmental nano-risk assessment. Their work enables regulators, industry and the scientific community to more reliably integrate dissolution behaviour into exposure and risk evaluations, and strengthens the link between cutting-edge environmental nanoscience and global chemicals regulation.