The European Commission's (EC) Joint Research Centre (JRC) has recently published a new Science and Policy Report on Cerium Dioxide, NM-211, NM-212, NM-213. Characterisation and test item preparation. The report is part of the JRC NM-series of Representative Manufactured Nanomaterials. It presents the physico-chemical characterisation of Representative Test Materials (RTMs) of manufactured nano cerium dioxide, with the aim that they 'may be used as representative material[s] in the measurement and testing with regard to hazard identification, risk and exposure assessment studies'.

The repository of RTM nanomaterials responds to a nanosafety research need, which is the availability of nanomaterial from a single production batch to enhance the comparability of results between different research laboratories and projects. The availability of representative nanomaterials to the international scientific community enhances and enables development of safe materials and products. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) led a programme that tested these RTMs (cerium dioxide NM-211, NM-212 and NM-213) which were also fully characterised within the PROSPEcT project.

According to the report, 'many of the OECD endpoints on physico-chemical testing have been completed' by the work and results for 15 physico-chemical endpoints are addressed in the present report. These include size and size distribution, crystallite size and electron microscopy images, zeta potential and dispersibility as well as sample and test item preparation procedures'.

The complete report can be accessed via the following link http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/111111111/32051