EHS Testing of Products Containing Nanomaterials: What is Nano Release?

Nano-bio surface interactions, cellular internalisation in cancer cells and e-data portals of nanomaterials: A review

Nanomaterials (NMs) have abundant applications in areas such as electronics, energy, environment industries, biosensors, nano devices, theranostic platforms, etc. Nanoparticles can increase the solubility and stability of drug-loaded materials, enhance their internalisation, protect them from initial destruction in the biological system, and lengthen their circulation time. The biological interaction of proteins present in the body fluid with NMs can change the activity and natural surface properties of NMs. The size and charge of NMs, properties of the coated and uncoated NMs, nature of proteins, cellular interactions direct their internalisation pathway in the cellular system. Thus, the present review emphasises the impact of coated, uncoated NMs, size and charge, nature of proteins on nano-bio surface interactions and on internalisation with specific focus on cancer cells. The increased activity of NPs may also result in toxicity on health and environment, thus emphasis should be given to assess the toxicity of NMs in the medical field. The e-data sharing portals of NMs have also been discussed in this review that will be helpful in providing the information about the chemical, physical, biological properties and toxicity of NMs.

Nanosilver conductive ink: A case study for evaluating the potential risk of nanotechnology under hypothetical use scenarios

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are being incorporated into a variety of consumer products due to unique properties that offer a variety of advantages over bulk materials. Understanding of the nano-specific risk associated with nano-enabled technologies, however, continues to lag behind research and development, registration with regulators, and commercialization. One example of a nano-enabled technology is nanosilver ink, which can be used in commercial ink-jet printers for the development of low-cost printable electronics. This investigation utilizes a tiered EHS framework to evaluate the potential nano-specific release, exposure and hazard associated with typical use of both nanosilver ink and printed circuits. The framework guides determination of the potential for ENM release from both forms of the technology in simulated use scenarios, including spilling of the ink, aqueous release (washing) from the circuits and UV light exposure. The as-supplied ink merits nano-specific consideration based on the presence of nanoparticles and their persistence in environmentally-relevant media. The material released from the printed circuits upon aqueous exposure was characterized by a number of analysis techniques, including ultracentrifugation and single particle ICP-MS, and the results suggest that a vast majority of the material was ionic in nature and nano-specific regulatory scrutiny may be less relevant.