Nanotechnology is dangerous to your lungs
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
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Nanoparticles are already used everywhere - in electronics, medicine, cosmetics, even to cleanse the environment. In retail, there are now more than 2,800 technical devices and consumer products based on nanoparticles. By 2017, this technology will bring up to 50 billion dollars annually.
But the rise of nanotechnology entails serious risks, researchers at the University of Science and Technology of Missouri warn. "It is necessary to investigate the impact of nanoparticles on human health and the environment as soon as possible," said biologist Yue-Wern Huang.
Huang and his team systematically studied the effect of nanoparticles from transition metal oxides on human lung cells. Such nanoparticles are widely used in optical instruments, sound recording equipment, for purifying water, in cosmetics and skin care products, for targeted delivery of drugs to the body, etc.
"In its usual form (coarse-grained powder), these substances are almost non-toxic, but when you turn into nanoparticles of diameters 16-80 nanometers, the situation changes dramatically for the worse," Huang says.
The researchers subjected both healthy and lung cancer cells to the action of nanoparticles from titanium, chromium, manganese, iron, nickel, copper and zinc compounds-in simple terms, from transition metal oxides from the fourth row of the periodic table of elements. It turned out that the toxicity of nanoparticles increases as they move from left to right along this row.
"About 80% of the cells died in the presence of copper and zinc oxide nanoparticles, they penetrated the cells and destroyed their membranes, toxic effects associated with the electrical charge of the surface and the" connectivity "to the cells," says Huang. In addition, some nanoparticles emitted metal ions, which also played a role in cell death.
Now Juan is conducting a new study. It seeks to reduce the toxicity of nanoparticles and their harm to the body. "We cover nanoparticles from zinc oxide with nontoxic nanoparticles - to make them less harmful, and we will also explore whether nanoparticles interfere with cell division and whether they affect the cell cycle," Huang said.
Huang and his team systematically studied the effect of nanoparticles from transition metal oxides on human lung cells. Such nanoparticles are widely used in optical instruments, sound recording equipment, for purifying water, in cosmetics and skin care products, for targeted delivery of drugs to the body, etc.
"In its usual form (coarse-grained powder), these substances are almost non-toxic, but when you turn into nanoparticles of diameters 16-80 nanometers, the situation changes dramatically for the worse," Huang says.
The researchers subjected both healthy and lung cancer cells to the action of nanoparticles from titanium, chromium, manganese, iron, nickel, copper and zinc compounds-in simple terms, from transition metal oxides from the fourth row of the periodic table of elements. It turned out that the toxicity of nanoparticles increases as they move from left to right along this row.
"About 80% of the cells died in the presence of copper and zinc oxide nanoparticles, they penetrated the cells and destroyed their membranes, toxic effects associated with the electrical charge of the surface and the" connectivity "to the cells," says Huang. In addition, some nanoparticles emitted metal ions, which also played a role in cell death.
Now Juan is conducting a new study. It seeks to reduce the toxicity of nanoparticles and their harm to the body. "We cover nanoparticles from zinc oxide with nontoxic nanoparticles - to make them less harmful, and we will also explore whether nanoparticles interfere with cell division and whether they affect the cell cycle," Huang said.
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