Most of metal nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide which are used in different application of nanotechnology are harmful to human being. One that comes to mind is that they have started adding silver nano-particles to socks and undershirts. Sure, silver has antimicrobial properties, as when it is exposed to sunlight/UV it will produce free radicals. However, we do not know what the environmental effects of this will be.

Greetings dear college: The applications of nanotechnology are very varied, and their potentials reach increasing levels. Nanomaterials become new elements, different from the materials that gave them origin, so it is said that with nanotechnology the periodic table is being rediscovered. For these reason the manufactured Nano particles (NPs) have a large number of industrial applications, including electronics, optics, textiles, as well as

applications in medical devices, biosensors and in environmental remediation

In fact, NPs meet frequently marketed as part of cosmetics and sun creams

(TiO, Fe O, ZnO), dental fillings (SiO), filtration systems of water and catalytic, photovoltaic cells (CdS, CdSe, ZnS), etc. In the field of human health, NPs are used for development of new drugs, the transport of them, for diagnosis molecular and image, development of nanoarrays, etc.

However, I believe that the development of nanotechnology must be accompanied by studies that allow us to know the effects that these NPs are going to have both on man and on the environment, all the more so if we take into account that non-manufactured NPs have demonstrated induce toxic effects such as silicosis or asbestosis. Moreover, the different physicochemical properties of nanomaterials compared to their macroscopic counterparts imply that their toxicokinetics and toxicity profile can not be inferred by extrapolation of data from their non-nanostructured counterparts.

The toxicity of the NPs depends, among other factors, on their

persistence in the organs in which they are deposited and if the the host can cause a biological response to sequester or eliminate these systems. Recently, different researchers have demonstrated the toxicity produced by NP in different studies in vitro and in vivo. Due to this fact, the new term is coined

of "Nanotoxicology", which is defined as the "science that examines

the harmful and toxic effects of the designed nanostructures

artificially and nanomechanisms in living organisms "

Some elements concerning your request in:

Book Manufactured Nanomaterials by 2030 - Workplace health and sa...

Below research paper may have details on your question:

Article Nanomaterial exposure, toxicity, and impact on human health

Usually it has been seen that the smaller/ too tiny NPs are more toxic than the larger ones! Check this article:

Toxicity of Engineered Nanoparticles in the Environment. Melissa A. Maurer-Jones†, Ian L. Gunsolus†, Catherine J. Murphy‡, and Christy L. Haynes*†† Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States‡ Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United StatesAnal. Chem., 2013, 85 (6), pp 3036–3049DOI: 10.1021/ac303636s

Dear Abdalla,

This is a question of big interest and for larger discussion, some experts have been already shared their opinions and results of studies in reports, papers or reviews.

Below you can find some selected information from the literature with answers at your questions. In my opinion, as it is somewhat expected, the risks regarding the utilization of nanoparticles of high surface areas are more or less higher than those of traditional additives or micro-fillers. However, in all situations is required the safety utilization and manipulation for human and environmental protection.

In many cases, the nanofillers are as aggregates of micron size and must be dispersed via different techniques in polymers, liquids, etc. to obtain the distribution and dispersion at “nano” scale of nanoparticles (NPs). The nature of NPs is very dissimilar, and they could show different risks.

In our laboratory we are working in the frame of R&D projects from about 20 years in the field of nanotechnology, without some problems and it’s OK! However, an increased attention and a special strategy for the manipulation and utilization of NPs in conditions of maximum security is considered. Please don’t exclude that at laboratory scale the risks are somewhat smaller than in the case of industrial production of NPs or where are used at larger scale in bigger quantities…

Good luck in the finding of the best answers,

Marius

PS: For eventual help:

Yokel RA, Macphail RC. Engineered nanomaterials: exposures, hazards, and risk prevention. J Occup Med Toxicol. 2011;6:7. Published 2011 Mar 21. doi:10.1186/1745-6673-6-7

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3071337/

Warheit, David B. “Hazard and risk assessment strategies for nanoparticle exposures: how far have we come in the past 10 years?” F1000Research vol. 7 376. 26 Mar. 2018, doi:10.12688/f1000research.12691.1

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5871814/

Borm PJ, Robbins D, Haubold S, et al. The potential risks of nanomaterials: a review carried out for ECETOC. Part Fibre Toxicol. 2006;3:11. Published 2006 Aug 14. doi:10.1186/1743-8977-3-11

Most of metal nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide which are used in different application of nanotechnology are harmful to human being. One that comes to mind is that they have started adding silver nano-particles to socks and undershirts. Sure, silver has antimicrobial properties, as when it is exposed to sunlight/UV it will produce free radicals. However, we do not know what the environmental effects of this will be.

There is a certain risk associated with the development of any new technology. The key issue is risk analysis, risk characterization, acceptance of a specific optimal level of risk and building protection instruments against the possible appearance of negative aspects of materialization of specific risk categories.

Best wishes