Nanomedicine is the use of nanotechnology in the medical field, which can be applied to pharmaceuticals and medical devices, as well as to imaging and diagnostics. One of the hot topics in nanomedicine is the use of nanobiomaterials for drug delivery (nanocarriers). In medicine, a nanobiomaterial is a nanoscale material (up to 1000 nm) able to elicit an appropriate host response in a specific application. On the one hand, using nanobiomaterials as drug carriers has various expected advantages compared to the use of their bulk material: 1) capacity to influence the permeability of biological barriers, 2) increased drug efficacy, 3) reduction of side effects, 4) targeted drug delivery, and 5) decreased drug doses. On the other hand, the nanoscale brings new challenges to product design, handling and manufacturing. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, this is complex, costly and requires the combination of knowledge from several different fields (chemistry, biology, medicine and pharmaceuticals). Innovative SMEs are recognized as important economic and social actors in Switzerland and Europe, but nano-specific challenges may prove to be too high a hurdle for them.

In this complex environment the GoNanoBioMat project aims to support SMEs, their suppliers, service suppliers and research institutes in their decision making when developing and producing polymeric nanobiomaterials for drug delivery by implementing a Safe-by-Design (SbD) approach. Moreover, the regulatory framework for the topic at hand and safety aspects during the product's life-cycle are included.

The GoNanoBioMat framework contains:

• a knowledge base presenting the current state of the science, including trends, gaps and uncertainties;
• GoNanoBioMat guidelines for implementing an SbD approach for medicinal polymeric nanocarriers;
• and case studies involving an in-depth investigation of three selected materials: chitosan, pol-ylactic acid (PLA) polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs).