The latest researches on the potential hazards of nanotechnology are to be presented next week at a symposium at the Karolinska Institutet as part of its 200th jubilee celebrations.
Nanomaterials, containing particles one-billionth of a metre in dimension, are becoming an increasingly common component of everyday products, from cosmetics, sun-screens and food packaging, to sports articles such as badminton rackets and cycle helmets.
“There are a great many studies on cells and animals suggesting that nanomaterials can have damaging effects on the health and the environment,” says conference organiser Bengt Fadeel, vice chairman at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet. “When you shrink material down to the nanoscale, you change their properties and we still don’t really understand which properties are hazardous.”
One material proved to be associated with health risks is the carbon nanotube, a material that is both lighter and stronger than steel. Several talks at the symposium, which will bring together world-leading scientists in the field, will look at the risks of carbon nanotubes. Animals exposed to these materials have developed health problems such as lung diseases and symptoms not unlike those caused by asbestos.
“There are serious fears that carbon nanotubes might have the same harmful properties as asbestos fibres,” Fadeel. “The question is whether nanotubes are also carcinogenic.” The danger of nanomaterials is related to how easy it is for the body to break the particles down, and new research shows that there are mechanisms in the white blood cells for doing just this. This could open the way for using nanomaterials in healthcare, for example as a contrast material in medical imaging.
The conference will also be dealing with risk assessment. What is the maximum level of nanoparticles that should be allowed in the workplace and how is data from animal studies to be translated into humans?
The symposium is supported by the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme through the NANOMMUNE project.
For the full programme, see: http://www.nanommune.eu
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