nanoPharos: A case study on FAIR (Nano)material (Meta)data management
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Novel and advanced materials, including nanomaterials (NMs), are vital for diverse industrial and societal applications, yet conventional Research and Innovation (R&I) and Research and Development (R&D) can take decades to reach market deployment. Digitising these processes to support safe and sustainable material development, and reduce reliance on animal testing, requires large volumes of high-quality, interoperable data. The FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) Data Principles provide a framework for this, but demand domain-specific implementation strategies. We present nanoPharos, a repository offering ready-for-modelling NMs datasets integrating physicochemical characterisation, mechanistic toxicity, exposure, and risk assessment data, enriched with atomistic, structural, molecular, and periodic table-based descriptors. Built on an adapted ChemBL schema, nanoPharos captures NMs' complexity from unit cell to macroscopic properties, linking rich bibliographic, provenance, and scientific metadata. Case studies demonstrate scalability for advanced materials, while integration with platforms like nanodash and Zenodo enhances FAIRness. Evaluation via Joint Research Centre maturity indicators shows strong compliance, with ongoing work towards full ontology integration and advanced API queries.
Source: NanoImpact
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,600
OpenAlex ID: W4416822171