Scrutiny of Nanoparticle Safety Urged

A lung toxicology expert calls for a new discipline, nanotoxicology, to be established and an investigation undertaken of the potential health risks of nanoparticles.

The new discipline would make an important contribution toward helping scientists develop safe and sustainable nanotechnology, according to Professor Ken Donaldson, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Edinburgh (UK). He would like to see guidelines developed for testing all materials in the nanoscale where human health could be involved.

"We believe that efforts to untangle science and science fiction regarding the risks from nanotechnology are needed and that a focus on the potential harmful effects of nanoparticles is both timely and necessary,” explained Prof. Donaldson.

Nanoparticles are already present in large numbers in the air from natural sources and from vehicle exhaust emissions. They are also found in sunblocks, boot polish, tires, and photocopier toner. In the future, however, they may be used in clothing manufacturing, to purify water, clean up contaminated ground, or deliver drugs to specific parts of the body.

"Our current knowledge of the toxicology of nanoparticles and nanotubes is poor but suggests that nanoparticles may be able to have undesirable effects at their point of entry into the body, for example, the lungs, and might also be able to affect other organs,” he added. "Nanoparticles in food may cross the gut lymphatic system and so reach other organs more easily than larger particles do. Inhaled nanoparticles have been reported to travel from nasal nerves to the brain, a phenomenon seen with some viruses similar in size to nanoparticles.”



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