Nano: Introduction, historical glimpse and regulations: Author PK Gupta
Dr Pawan Kumar (PK) Gupta
President, ASAW; Director, Toxicology; formerly Div Head, IVRI Advisor WHO; Editor/Author/Expert WHO, UNFAO and IAEA
1.1 Introduction
Nanomaterial (NMs) are the particles of organic or inorganic materials and are being used in an ever-increasing number of products and applications. Nanotechnology is being used in developing countries to help treat diseases and prevent health-related problems. Nanotechnology is also being applied to or developed for application to a variety of industrial and purification processes. This chapter deals with historical terms, the terminology used in nanotechnology, comparisons of NM sizes, common terms related to toxicity, toxic effects, dose and other related terms, overview of regulations, and future prospects of nanotechnology.
1.2 Key points
? Nanotoxicology is the study of the toxicity of NMs. Because of quantum size
effects and large surface area to volume ratio, NMs have unique properties compared with their larger counterparts that affect their toxicity.
? Nanotoxicology represents a new and growing research area in toxicology.
It deals with the assessment of the toxicological properties of nanoparticles (NPs)
to determine whether (and to what extent) they pose an environmental or societal threat.
? By comparison, typical carboncarbon bond lengths, or the spacing between these atoms in a molecule, are in the range 0.120.15 nm, and a DNA double-helix has a diameter around 2 nm. On the other hand, the smallest cellular life-forms, the bacteria of the genus Mycoplasma, are around 200 nm in length. By convention, nanotechnology is taken as the scale range 1100 nm following the definition used by the National Nanotechnology Initiative in the United States.
? “Nano” is now a popular label for much of modern science, and many “nano”
words have recently appeared in dictionaries, including nanometer, nanoscale,
nanoscience, nanotechnology, nanostructure, nanotube, nanowire, and nanorobot.
? Nanosized particles are used in the manufacture of several everyday consumer products. Several scientists have reported that Ayurvedic bhasmas are in nanometer dimensions and are considered as nanomedicine free from toxicity in therapeutic doses.
? Today, there are several pieces of legislation in the European Union (EU) and the
United States with specific references to NMs. However, a single internationally
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accepted definition for NMs does not exist.
? The Global 3D nanofabrication market is anticipated to grow with a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 27.4% during the forecast period from 2020 to 2028.
1.3 Overview
Nanotechnology is rapidly developing, which leads to the need for a safety assessment with regard to both human health and environmental impacts. Materials in the Nanoscale can behave differently from larger materials, even if the basic material is the same. Nanoscale Materials can have different chemical, physical, electrical and biological properties. The nanotechnology industry is experiencing challenges in both environmental effects assessment and therefore risk assessment. Nanotechnology is the study and control of the material that has one or more dimensions in the Nanoscale. Nanotechnology is a very multifaceted technology ranging from the extensions of conventional physics to the new approaches and the development of new materials and devices that have at least one dimension in the Nanoscale. Nanotechnology also deals with the exploration of whether the material in the nanoscale can be directly measured. NMs are not a homogenous group of materials but encompass a magnitude of various types and forms of materials having sizes in the range of 1-100 nm. The adverse effects of engineered NMs on living organisms is a rapidly growing discipline aimed at identifying and characterizing NM toxicity
that will serve—in combination with exposure data—the ultimate goal of performing a meaningful risk assessment. Many engineered NMs exhibit unique and desirable catalytic, optical, structural, or electronic properties that make them attractive in diverse technological areas, including multiple manufacturing industries and environmental and medical applications. Therefore concerns have been raised regarding potential acute and chronic adverse effects due to their physicochemical properties in combination with nanostructures, the continuing introduction of nanoscale materials into consumer products, such as TiO2 in sunscreen creams, antibacterial Ag in textiles, quantum dots in televisions, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in sports equipment together with increasing numbers of publications reporting toxic responses mostly observed in in vitro studies, has led to increasing concerns and more public awareness about potential adverse health effects. Thus questions should be raised regarding the actual versus the perceived risk of nanotechnology applications, what is hype, what is reality? To provide answers it is necessary to understand the fundamentals of NM toxicity in human beings and their environment.
Further reading
Gupta, PK 2022. Fundamentals of Nanotoxicology: Concepts and Applications, 1st Edition - April 27, 2022 Paperback ISBN: 9780323903998 / 9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 9 0 3 9 9 - 8 eBook ISBN: 9780323906906
Gupta, P.K., 2016. Fundamentals of Toxicology: Essential Concepts and Applications.” Ist. Elsevier, USA.
Gupta, P.K., 2020. Toxic effects of nanoparticles, Brain Storming Questions in Toxicology, Ist ed Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. CRC Press, pp. 297300.
Gupta, P.K., 2020. Toxic effects of nanoparticles, Toxicology: Resource for Self Study Questions, 2nd (ed.) Kinder Direct Publications (Chapter 15).
Gupta, P.K., 2020. Toxicology of nanoparticles, Problem Solving Questions in Toxicology - A Study Guide for the Board and Other Examinations, Ist ed Springer Nature, Switzerland (Chapter 14).
Jaison, J., Barhoum, A., Chan, Y.S., Dufresne, A., et al., 2018. Review on nanoparticles and nanostructured materials: history, sources, toxicity and regulations.
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 9, 10501074. Published online 2018 Apr 3. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.9.98.Nanotoxicology: toxicity. In: Kumar, V., Dasgupta, N., Ranjan, S. (Eds.), Evaluation, Risk Assessment and Management. 1st (ed.) Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, USA.
Miller, M.R., Clift, M.J.D., Elder, A., et al., 2017. Nanomaterial versus ambient ultrafine particles: an opportunity to exchange toxicology knowledge. Env. Health Perspect. 125 (10), . Available from: https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP424106002.Published online.
Monteiro-Riviere, N.A., Lang Tran, C. (Eds.), 2016. Nanotoxicology: Progress Toward Nanomedicine. 2nd (ed.) Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, USA.
Warheit, D.B., Oberd?rster, G., Kane, A.B., et al., 2019. Nanoparticle toxicology. In: Klaassen, Curtis D. (Ed.), Casarett and Doull’s Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons, 9th (ed.) McGraw-Hill Education, pp. 1381-1430.