Toxicity of Nanotechnology

While nanotechnology certainly promises great opportunities on many fronts, it also begs for caution to be taken in its use. Methods which are currently in use to gauge toxicity of substances do not necessarily apply to nanomaterials, like measuring the mass of a toxin in a compound, for example. Because such a large part of nanotechnology is the way in which the materials can interact and build within our bodies could potentially be toxic to our cells and organs, although the material itself may not be toxic. An example of toxicity based on physical rather than chemical properties is the lethal interaction between asbestos fibers and human lungs. The long, slender fibers of the material are what can cause lung cancer, but ground into smaller, differently shaped pieces, the asbestos is not as toxic.
Within a specific area of nanomaterial production, such as extremely lightweight carbon-based nanotubes, there are millions of different tubes produced, and each could potentially have different properties, just like isotopes of elements can be harmful whereas another isotope is not. Obviously regulation and study of the industry will have to be extremely comprehensive and cautious, as little is known about this new branch of technology.

I thought that the comparison between asbestos fibers and nanotubes was very interesting. It seems strange that something which we hear so much about being horrible for you to breathe, even to the extent that removing it could be incredibly dangerous, is much more benign for our system if it is ground up, since it is the fiber that is the harmful part. It seems that things are mostly thought about as being chemically toxic, not physically toxic.

Reference: Natural Resources Defense Council, "Smaller is Weirder: Our Silver-Coated Future," OnEarth Magazine, Fall 2007.
http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/07fal/nano5.asp, Accessed November 28, 2007.