The Dawn of Nanotoxicology - Its Dangers and Prognosis

Nanotechnology is an amazing revolution of tiny materials, contributing to raising the standards of living through medicine, agriculture, and computers. However, our materials may be toxic for our bodies if we do not learn how to improve the current manufacturing and recycling processes. What are nanomaterials, and why are they toxic? When materials like gold or silver are handled in bulk, they are very stable, but when we strip these elements into sheets that are only a few atoms thick, it gives rise to differing electroconductive, thermal, and reactional properties. (Schwarcz 2013)

For example, carbon, the basis of life forms on earth, can impair cell membrane function in fish when cut to the nano size. Carbon based nanotechnology, called Buckyballs, are currently being used in the industry for producing solar cells, but because of the varying properties that emerge different nano sizes of materials, we must test the effect of a 1 atomic layer Buckyball, vs 5, vs 100, vs 1000 layer Buckyball. These wide range of possibilities causes the research cost to increase very quickly, putting strain on the supporting financial organizations. (Service, 2004)

Question: How toxic are nanomaterials?

Although we need to do much more research on this topic to understand the complete effects of nanomaterials on our ecosystem and physiology, there are two notable studies that provide a snapshot of both sides of the data - that some nanoparticles are safe, and others aren’t. When shrimp were exposed to silver nanoparticles, results indicated many harmful changes to shrimp intestines such as: enlargement of tissues, detachment of layers of stomach lining, and greater thickness of the mucus layer (Kachenton 2018).

On the other hand, gold nanoclusters (approximately 2-3 layers of atoms) had no change in the physiology of silkworms, but did increase the toughness of their peptides due to slight increase of helix shape as opposed to beta pleated-sheet type folding. In this case, shrimp fitness increased (Andoh 2018).

It is commendable that governments are funding nano-research, especially in a pivotal moment such as this (Service 2004). As we are still in the initial stages of research, pushing nanoproducts to market prematurely can risk heightened public concern and unfortunately, project shut down. It is easy to be enamoured by the flashy applications of nanotechnology or conversely, reject it completely for its grim side effects on our species and environment. These articles indicate that a balanced approach to nanomaterial research and product development will have the greatest advantage.

Although there is cause for concern with the use of carbon and silver nanoparticles at certain concentrations in certain conditions, gold and other materials may not cause similarly negative outcomes. This, paired with the many positive applications of nanotechnology, makes the funding, time and effort of research worth it, as the rewards come to pay off in the near future.