Society needs – why it is crucial to investigate nanotoxicity?
Nanoscience and nanotechnology are one of the fastest growing research and industrial areas in the 21st Century. Nanotechnology has gained a great deal of public interest due to the needs and applications of nanomaterials in almost all areas of human endeavors including industry, agriculture, business, medicine and public health. Nanoscience provides basic information on the species of potential commercial applications. Both nanoscience and nanotechnology rank among the most prominent and rapidly emerging fields that have provided opportunities to individuals with various academic backgrounds (chemists, biologists, physicists, material scientists, engineers, medical specialists and toxicologists) and scientific expertise to understand and manufacture nanoscale objects. One of the issues that has to be addressed in the near future, before massive fabrication of nanomaterials, is their toxicity to humans and the environment.
Although the nanomaterial concept is not new, the ability to control and make nanoparticles of various sizes and shapes for various industrial, medical, agricultural, and other relevant applications, is innovative. Today, nanotechnology encompasses the production, manipulation, application, and evaluation of nanomaterials based on their properties at the atomic scale. In the public health arena, nanomedicine has been referred to as the application of nanotechnology for diagnosis, monitoring, control and treatment of biological systems. Related materials include nanoparticles that are biological mimetics, nanofibers and polymeric nanoconstructs as bio-materials, sensors and laboratory diagnostics. In the area of environmental health, nanotechnology applications include the development and application of tools to assess human and other biota exposures, characterize risk, assess genes environment interactions, and link environmental exposures to diseases in humans and other animals.
While there have been significant advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology, there have been concerns that the wide production and utilization of nanomaterials is rapidly overtaking efforts to evaluate their toxicity to humans and the environment. To date, very few studies have focused on the evaluation of the impact of nanomaterials on human health. Limited toxicological data indicate that nanomaterials exposure poses a potential risk to biological systems. In-vitro studies with human skin cells and lung epithelial cells have reported that exposure to single wall carbon nanotubes induces oxidative stress and apoptosis. Very limited data are available on the absorption and toxicokinetics of nanomaterials, as well as on their fate and transport in the environment. As their industrial production increases and the products containing nanomaterials build up in the environment, the potential risk of adverse effects is also expected to increase significantly.
Other areas of concern are the lack of appropriate test models, test protocols, and biomarkers of exposure, sensitivity and effects associated with human exposure to nanomaterials. Also unknown are the most effective ways of protecting workers and/or regulating the production, use and disposal of nanomaterials. Taken together, there exists a big gap in scientific data regarding the toxicology, risk assessment and management of nanomaterials.
The federal government will spend nearly $1.5 billion on nanotechnology projects in 2008 as estimated based on data from Federal agencies. However, only $58.6 million is devoted to the research that studies potential environmental, health and safety consequences of nanomaterials. We believe that the best way of protecting society against new catastrophes is to avoid them. The history of asbestos disaster taught us to first thoroughly test new materials before their industrial applications. The recent public outrage on the news that there are traces of drugs in drinking water will lead to the enforcement of stricter rules for the disposal of chemicals. Nanoparticles are among the compounds that could easily pollute the environment due to their very small size. Among federal agencies NSF has significantly invested in advances of nanoscience, so understanding the consequences of developing it to the mass production level and bringing tons of nanomaterials into the environment should be one of the areas of its mission.
Therefore, we enhanced the research capabilities of the Jackson State University by the establishment of the Nanotoxicity CREST Center that efficiently integrates experimental and computational research with undergraduate and graduate education and training of minority students. The Center develops new approaches to enhance knowledge related to nanomaterials, their practical applications and environmental effects and implement an integrated education and research program in the area of nanotoxicity It is anticipated that the implementation of the above-stated studies would provide new insights into the mechanisms of the toxic action of nanomaterials, as well as relevant scientific information for making informed decisions regarding the cost-effective management of nanomaterials. It will also provide an excellent opportunity to train undergraduate and graduate students in the emerging area of nanotoxicology.