Nanoethics for the Plastocene: the value sensitive design of nanofiber materials

This paper focuses on how to respond appropriately to the problem
of the (non-)biodegradability of nanofibers and how the integration
of ethics could help. First, the paper describes the experience of a
bioengineering research team at the Technical University of
Liberec in developing a technology for producing filtration
materials during the COVID-19 pandemic and the project that
was implemented to provide support for ethical decision-making
in the field of research and development of nanotechnologies.
The paper then looks into the limitations of the EU’s new Medical
Device Regulation (2017/745) for the development and design of
nanomaterials by focusing on the issue of the (non-
)biodegradability of nanofibers. The main argument is that to
advance sustainable nanotechnology practices it is essential to
incorporate ethical frameworks VSD, which includes a more-thanhuman
ethics, is proposed as suitable for addressing these issues.