- Emerging technologies such as nanotechnology aim to improve our quality of life and to contribute to industrial competitiveness. The rapid scientific advance and the wide number of new applications for these technologies result in the commercialization and use of consumer products prior to the establishment of an appropriate regulatory context for the adequate management of the potential risks.
- Nanomaterials, particles with at least one dimension under 100nm in size, behave differently compared to their macro forms, the laws of magnetism change at those sizes, they can enhance the strength of a material is very low concentrations, etc. Hundreds of products are already in the market, e.g., batteries, paints, coatings, cosmetics, medicines, etc. However, these same novel properties may make their risks unpredictable and unknown.
- The concern about the potential hazards of these materials has been growing exponentially in the last years all over the world; as a result, regulations are arising to guaranty a safe use of nanotechnology. How can we describe the results from such projects by using the several issues that make the development of an appropriate regulatory context extremely difficult and the most important aspects to consider for this task?
- Key words: nanotoxicology, nanomaterials, regulatory issues, emerging technologies, nanotechnology
Interesting discussion!
When we thought we had expected any possible scenarios, we had often been left with some gaps we never faced before. Consider thalidomide tragedy, it was not solely a fault of company (which was of course responsible for the tragedy) but it was more a bad consequence of our naiveness. We didnt encounter the problem to fully digest it yet. The same story might happen with nanotechnology. Although there is ample evidence and research currently available on nanotechnology, the field is a brand-new area compared to the conventional medicines and treatments. Hence, I think the caution by regulatory bodies is to some extent logical. Are there gonna be other sacrifices for the development of nano-based medicines? Are there gonna be other issues specifically related to nano-based medicines we dont know and faced yet? These are the main questions to ask and it will take time and lives maybe.
Dear all, most if not all scientific research and applied technology innovations are in fact based on trials-and-errors, but sometimes errors are disasters. Many medecins for cronic deseases have been commercialized and abruptly withdrawn after a short while. If someone did a simple google search for ' the dark side of nanotechnology ' pleinty of papers are available with horrible scenes.
Most of nanotechnology disasters are unfortunately irreversible, some researcher are even blaiming the uncontrolable growth of nanotechnology as the main cause of all modern life problems such as climat changes, earthquakes and volcanous activities, diseases, ....it is being a self-destrction phenomenon. My Regards
Interesting documents are available in RG. These are the links.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286598173_Nanoparticles_the_dark-side_of_nanotechnology_with_reference_to_health-care
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308945069_Are_we_Ignoring_the_Considerations_for_the_Dark-Side_of_Nanotechnology
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