The Choice is Yours biweekly column by Gregor Wolbring

Nanotoxicology

February 28th 2008

I covered some what I see as the start of the nanotoxicology debate in my recent column Nano-cosmetics, sunscreen and personal care . There I observed that “the Nanoparticle toxicology debate appears to have started with sunscreen. The nanoformulated titanium dioxide available in sunscreens captured the attention of NGO’s and led to a number of significant questions being raised.” I emphasized in that column that the investigation of the toxicology of nano particles is not new but that the term used in earlier investigations was not "nanoparticles" but "ultrafine particles." I listed some ultrafine particle toxicology research papers in that column. The column presented here covers the field of nanotoxicology and its future in more detail. I will cover the broader Environment, Health and Safety of Nanotech in a future column.

A number of review article and bibliographies on nanotoxicology that are worth reading are online (1-11). Some are free. The Journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology is an open access journal with many articles on the biological effects of Nanoparticle. A non open access journal is the journal Nanotoxicology. A paper which summarizes some Risk Asessment Studies of Nanomaterials in Japan and Other Countries can be found here. The fact that Nanotoxicology is an important agenda for many people is seen in the many conferences and forums that focus on this topic. The 1st Nobel Forum mini-symposium on nanotoxicology was held 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden (12). An International Conference on Nanomaterial Toxicology organized at Lucknow by Industrial Toxicology Research Centre and Indian Nanoscience Society ICONTOX 2008, took place in Lucknow, India, February 5-7, 2008 (13).The 2nd International Conference on Nanotoxicology will take place in Switzerland on 7-10, September 2008. The Nanorisk Conference , which will take place in October in Paris France, will among others look at the methodologies used to estimate toxicity.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Under the Committee on Scientific and Technological Policy (CSTP) a Working Party on Nanotechnology was established in March 2007 (14). The OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (15) is engaged in a number of projects:

In addition, OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials, has launched a “sponsorship programme” in which countries will share the testing of specific nanomaterials. Through careful testing of a representative set of manufactured nanomaterials much information that is crucial for the protection of human and environmental health can be obtained.  In launching this “sponsorship programme” the Working Party agreed on a priority list of nanomaterials to be tested (based on materials which are most frequently used in commerce) as well as a list of effects for which they should be tested.  The OECD will be making regular updates on this programme (16).  NanoSafe Australia’s (17) current research priorities include the following areas:

Toxicokinetics (including dermal penetration and distribution), toxicity testing and risk assessment of nanomaterials in sunscreens, specifically zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

However many links are dead by now and the recent cut of the ANI by the newly formed government makes it hard to predict where Australia will go.

The European Community has various programs addressing nanotoxicology

- Nano-Pathology (The role of nano-particles in material-induced pathologies).

- Nanoderm (Quality of skin as a barrier to ultra-fine particles).

- Cellnanotox (Cellular Interaction and Toxicology with Engineered Nanoparticles).

- Dipna (Development of an Integrated Platform for Nanoparticle Analysis to verify their possible toxicity).

- Nanosh (Inflammatory and genotoxic effects of engineered nanomaterials).

- Nanotox (Nano-Particle Characterization and Toxicity).


China

In 2004, NSFC launched a 5-year major project supporting the study on the toxicological effects of carbon nanomaterials (18). Important topics included the toxicology of manufactured nanomaterials; the fate, transport, and transformation of nanomaterials in the human body; the degree of human exposure to nanomaterials; and the nature of the transport and transformation of nanoparticles in the environment. Exposure and risk analysis were central concerns.

I could list many more countries that fund nanotoxicology studies. However one wonders whether it would have happened if certain NGO’s such as the ETC Group had not raised the issue. Such groups are at times able to use their social power to initiate discourse. Often NGO’s highlight social, economic, ethical and legal consequences before others and they are increasingly well informed, analytical and globalized.

However a lot of work is still to be done.

As a recent article in the journal nanotoxicology stated:(19)

The physical, chemical and biological properties of various nanomaterials differ substantially - as do the potential risks they pose. We argue that nanomaterials must be categorized based on the location of the nanoscale structure in the system/material before their hazards can be assessed and propose a categorization framework that enables scientists and regulators to identify the categories of nanomaterials systematically. The framework is applied to a suggested hazard identification approach aimed at identifying causality between inherent physical and chemical properties and observed adverse effects reported in the literature. We tested the workability of the proposed procedure using nanoparticles as an illustrative case study. A database was generated noting the reported inherent physical and chemical properties of the nanoparticles tested and the main effects observed. 428 studies were noted in the database reporting on a total of 965 nanoparticles. We found that although a limited number of studies have been reported on ecotoxicity, more than 120 and 270 have been reported on mammalian toxicity and cytotoxicity, respectively. In general there was a lack of characterization of the nanoparticles studied and it was not possible to link specific properties of nanoparticles to the observed effects. Our study shows that future research strategies must have a strong focus on characterization of the nanoparticles tested.

The Choice is Yours

Nanoparticles will be involved in many products, enabling many advances. Its up to the reader to ensure that they are safe.

Resources:

Tests on sunscreen nanoparticles 'reassuring', by Anna Salleh

First nanotechnology genotoxicity tests find that carbon nanotubes could damage DNA,Nanowerk.

Nanotoxicology - Interactions of Nanomaterials with Biological Systems, Edited by Yuliang Zhao and Hari Singh Nalwa, June 2006

BéruBé K, Balharry D, Sexton K, Koshy L, Jones T., Combustion-derived nanoparticles: mechanisms of pulmonary toxicity. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2007 Oct;34(10):1044-50.

Kagan VE, Bayir H, Shvedova AA. Nanomedicine and nanotoxicology: two sides of the same coin. Nanomedicine. 2005 Dec;1(4):313-6.

Curtis J, Greenberg M, Kester J, Phillips S, Krieger G. Nanotechnology and Nanotoxicology: a primer for clinicians. Toxicol Rev. 2006;25(4):245-60.

Garnett MC, Kallinteri P. Nanomedicines and nanotoxicology: some physiological principles. Occup Med (Lond). 2006 Aug;56(5):307-11.

K Donaldson, V Stone, C.L. Tran, W Kreyling, and PJA Borm. Nanotoxicology. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2004; 61:727-728

References

1. Günter Oberdörster, Eva Oberdörster, and Jan OberdörsterNanotoxicology. An Emerging Discipline Evolving from Studies of Ultrafine Particles (2005). Environmental Health Perspectives 113, 7 823-839, http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1257642&blobtype=pdf,

2. Nanowerk, Toxicology - from coal mines to nanotechnology, http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=1382.php, 2007.,Nanowerk webpage

3. Monika Kurath and Sabine Maasen. Toxicology as a nanoscience? – Disciplinary identities reconsidered (2006) Particle and Fibre Toxicology 3, 6, http://www.particleandfibretoxicology.com/content/3/1/6,

4. Howard M.Kipen and Debra L.Laskin. Smaller is not always better: nanotechnology yields nanotoxicology (2006) Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 289, L696-L697, http://ajplung.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/289/5/L696,

5. Ron HardmanA Toxicologic Review of Quantum Dots. Toxicity Depends on Physicochemical and Environmental Factors (2006) Environmental Health Perspectives 114, 2, http://www.ehponline.org/members/2005/8284/8284.html,

6. Environmental Defense, Nanotoxicology References. A bibliography of references and abstracts of risk-related research studies on nanomaterials compiled by Environmental Defense, 2008,.http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/4443_biblio.pdf.,Environmental Defense

7. Günter Oberdörster, Andrew Maynard, Ken Donaldson, Vincent Castranova, Julie Fitzpatrick, Kevin Ausman, Janet Carter, Barbara Karn, Wolfgang Kreyling, David Lai, Stephen Olin, Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, David Warheit, and Hong Yang. Principles for characterizing the potential human health effects from exposure to nanomaterials: elements of a screening strategy (2005) Particle and Fibre Toxicology 2, 8, http://www.particleandfibretoxicology.com/content/2/1/8/,

8. Vicki Stone and Ken Donaldson. Nanotoxicology. Signs of stress (2006). Nature Nanotechnology 1, 23-24, http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v1/n1/full/nnano.2006.69.html,

9. John M.Balbus, Andrew D.Maynard, Vicki L.Colvin, Vincent Castranova, George P.Daston, Richard A.Denison, Kevin L.Dreher, Peter L.Goering, Alan M.Goldberg, Kristen M.Kulinowski, Nancy A.Monteiro-Riviere, Günter Oberdörster, Gilbert S.Omenn, Kent E.Pinkerton, Kenneth S.Ramos, Kathleen M.Rest, Jennifer B.Sass, Ellen K.Silbergeld, and Brian A.Wong. Hazard Assessment for Nanoparticles—Report from an Interdisciplinary Workshop (2007) Environmental Health Perspectives 115, 11 1654-1659, http://www.ehponline.org/members/2007/10327/10327.pdf,

10. Nanoparticles, Toxicity, Health & Safety. INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY, SOCIETY & HEALTH, BIBLIOGRAPHY [non-systematic], http://www.nanotech-society.org/nano-biblio.htm, 2008.

11. Berube, NanoESH Research Needs Assessment SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY, 2008http://www.nano.gov/html/meetings/ehs/uploads/20070118_0831_NRNA_SUMMARIZED_BIBLIOGRAPHY_(2).doc.,U.S.National Nanotechnology Initiative

12. BENGT FADEEL, VALERIAN KAGAN, HARALD KRUG, ANNA SHVEDOVA, MAGNUS SVARTENGREN, LANG TRAN, and LARS WIKLUND There's plenty of room at the forum: Potential risks and safety assessment of engineered nanomaterials (2007) Nanotoxicology 1, 2 73-84, http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a781272723~db=all~jumptype=rss,

13. Lucknow Abstracts of ICONTOX 2008, Lucknow, India, February 5-7 2008 (2008) Nanotoxicology 2, S1 S2-S88

14. OECD, OECD Work on Nanotechnology, http://www.oecd.org/document/36/0,3343,en_2649_34269_38829732_1_1_1_1,00.html, 2008, www.oecd.org/sti/nano.,OECD

15. OECD. OECD work on Manufactured Nanomaterials, 2008, http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/34/6/37852382.ppt,

16. OECD's Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials, Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials, http://www.oecd.org/department/0,3355,en_2649_37015404_1_1_1_1_1,00.html, 2008.,OECD

17. NanoSafe Australia, http://www.rmit.edu.au/NANOSAFE, 2008.,NanoSafe Australia

18. ChunyingCHEN, Current Progress of the research on Nanotechnology Environmental health and safety in China, 2006,.http://cohesion.rice.edu/CentersAndInst/ICON/emplibrary/ICON_Tokyo_Chen2006-final-2.pdf.,Rice University webpage

19. Steffen Foss Hansen, Britt H.Larsen, Stig I.Olsen, and Anders Baun. Categorization framework to aid hazard identification of nanomaterials (2007) Nanotoxicology 1, 3 243-250, http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a785022120~db=all~order=page,

Please contact the author for any information desired at gwolbrin@ucalgary.ca© Gregor Wolbring, All Rights Reserved, 2007. Please contact the author for permission to reprint. More columns can be found at Innovationwatch.

Gregor Wolbring is a biochemist, bioethicist, disability/vari-ability/ability studies scholar, and health policy and science and technology governance researcher at the University of Calgary. He is a member of the Center for Nanotechnology and Society at Arizona State University; Part Time Professor at Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Canada; Member CAC/ISO - Canadian Advisory Committees for the International Organization for Standardization section TC229 Nanotechnologies; Member of the editorial team for the Nanotechnology for Development portal of the Development Gateway Foundation; Chair of the Bioethics Taskforce ofDisabled People's International; and former Member of the Executive of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (2003-2007 maximum terms served). He publishes the Bioethics, Culture and Disability website and authors a weblog on NBICS and its social implications.