Health impact and safety of engineered nanomaterials

Many engineered nanomaterials (NMs) are being synthesized and explored for potential use in consumer and medical products. Already, nanoparticles (NPs) of titanium dioxide (TiO(2)), zinc oxide (ZnO), silver (Ag) and other metals or their oxides are present in commercial products such as sunscreens,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) England), 2011-01, Vol.47 (25), p.7025-7038
Main Authors: Teow, Yiwei, Asharani, P V, Hande, M Prakash, Valiyaveettil, Suresh
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Automotive components
Crashworthiness
Cytotoxins - adverse effects
Cytotoxins - chemistry
Cytotoxins - metabolism
Health
Humans
Mutagens - adverse effects
Mutagens - chemistry
Mutagens - metabolism
Nanomaterials
Nanostructure
Nanostructures - adverse effects
Nanostructures - chemistry
Nanostructures - toxicity
Nanotechnology - methods
Safety
Silver
Titanium dioxide
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Many engineered nanomaterials (NMs) are being synthesized and explored for potential use in consumer and medical products. Already, nanoparticles (NPs) of titanium dioxide (TiO(2)), zinc oxide (ZnO), silver (Ag) and other metals or their oxides are present in commercial products such as sunscreens, cosmetics, wound dressings, surgical tools, detergents, automotive paints and tires. More recent and advanced FDA-approved use of NMs includes quantum dots (QDs) in live cell imaging, zirconium oxides in bone replacement and prosthetic devices and nanocarriers in drug delivery. The benefits from nanotechnology are aplenty, comprising antimicrobial activities, scratch- and water-resistance, long-lasting shine, improved processor speeds and better display resolution, to name a few. While developers of these products often focus on the exciting beneficial aspects of their products, safety and toxicity issues are often not discussed in detail. Long-term effects such as chronic exposure and environmental pollution are even less documented. Along with widespread manufacture and use of NMs, concerns for occupational hazards, proper handling, disposal, storage, shipping and clean up are expected to rise. This review focus on the possible biological impact of engineered NPs, serving as a reminder that nanomaterials can become a double-edged sword if not properly handled.
ISSN:1359-7345
1364-548X
DOI:10.1039/c0cc05271j