CRC NANOTOX PDF

Preface

The field of nanoscience has experienced unprecedented growth during the last few years and as a result has received a great deal of attention from the public, regulatory agencies, and the science community. However, there are many challenges that must be overcome before we can apply nanotechnology to the field of nanomedicine or conduct science-based occupational or environmental exposure risk assessments. This resultant new field of nanotoxicology will continue to grow and emerge as new products are produced.

This is the first book to provide basic knowledge relative to nanomaterial safety and is intended for basic scientists, environmental scientists, toxicologists, chemists, engineers, risk assessors, federal regulators, and others involved in assessing the safety of manufactured nanomaterials for occupational and environmental health. Nomenclature standards, physicochemical characteristics of nanoparticles that determine their toxicity, characterization, and obstacles using in vitro and in vivo studies are presented. This includes techniques and the importance of working with well-characterized materials, estimating nanoparticle dose, agglomeration problems, biodistribution and kinetics and levels of exposure that could be used for risk assessment analysis. Methods used to assess nanoparticle toxicity including genomics, proteomics, electron microscopy, and dispersion of nanoparticles are addressed. Specific target organ systems that have been utilized to study the adverse effects in the eye, pulmonary, cardiovascular, integumentary, and nervous systems are covered.

Also, the environmental and ecological impacts regarding nanomaterial fate, occurrences, and characterization are presented. Knowledge of exposure and hazard are needed for understanding risks associated with nanomaterials. We need to understand the broad concepts that apply to pathways of dermal, oral, and inhalational exposures so that we can focus on hazard assessment. The general principles governing the safety of all particles scenarios need to be evaluated in order to establish specific nanotoxicology safety and testing guidelines following occupational exposure during manufacture, exposure in academic research laboratories, or environmental exposure, either from manufacturing waste or postconsumer use.

Nanomaterials are structures with characteristic dimensions between 1 and 100 nm; engineered appropriately, they exhibit a variety of unique and tunable chemical and physical properties. These characteristics have made engineered nanoparticles central components in an array of emerging technologies, and many new companies have been formed to commercialize products. Although they have widespread potential applications in material sciences, engineering, and medicine, the toxicology of these materials has not been thoroughly evaluated under likely environmental, occupational, and medicinal exposure scenarios. To date, insufficient data has been collected to allow for full interpretation or thorough understanding of the toxicological implications of occupational exposure or potential environmental impact of nanomaterials. In order to avoid past mistakes made when new technological innovations, chemicals, or drugs were released prior to a broad-based risk assessment, information is needed now regarding the potential toxicological impact of nanomaterials on human health and the environment.