Manufactured nanomaterials have the potential to impact an exceedingly wide number of industries and markets ranging from energy storage, electronic and optical devices, light-weight construction to innovative medical approaches for diagnostics and therapy. In order to foster the development of safer nanomaterial-containing products, two main aspects are of major interest: their functional performance as well as their safety towards human health and the environment. In this paper a first proposal for a strategy is presented to link the functionality of nanomaterials with safety aspects. This strategy first combines information on the functionality and safety early during the innovation process and onwards, and then identifies Safe-by-Design (SbD) actions that allow for optimisation of both aspects throughout the innovation process. The strategy encompasses suggestions for the type of information needed to balance functionality and safety to support decision making in the innovation process. The applicability of the strategy is illustrated using a literature-based case study on carbon nanotube-based transparent conductive films. This is a first attempt to identify information that can be used for balancing functionality and safety in a structured way during innovation processes.

制造的纳米材料有可能影响极其广泛的行业和市场，从能源存储、电子和光学设备、轻型结构到用于诊断和治疗的创新医疗方法。为了促进更安全的含纳米材料产品的开发，主要关注两个主要方面：它们的功能性能以及它们对人类健康和环境的安全性。在本文中，提出了将纳米材料的功能与安全方面联系起来的策略的第一个建议。该策略首先在创新过程的早期及以后结合有关功能和安全性的信息，然后确定允许在整个创新过程中优化这两个方面的安全设计 (SbD) 行动。该战略包括对平衡功能和安全所需的信息类型的建议，以支持创新过程中的决策。使用基于文献的基于碳纳米管的透明导电薄膜的案例研究说明了该策略的适用性。这是首次尝试识别可用于在创新过程中以结构化方式平衡功能和安全性的信息。