GENERATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ENGINEERED NANOPARTICLES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOLOGICAL EXPOSURE RESEARCH

Nanoparticles (Dp in one or more dimensions ≤ 100 nm) have been part of the human environment at moment we started using fire, because combustion of fossil fuel releases polyaromatic hydrocarbons that serve as the nuclei for nanoparticle formation. The recent explosion of nano-hyphenated materials (e.g., engineered nanoparticles) has resulted in excitement for environmentalists, as if a new environmental pollutant is emerging. Nevertheless, their concern is legitimate and has a strong basis because knowledge regarding the biological and environmental impacts of engineered nanoparticles is lacking. Engineered nanoparticles are different from diesel engine particles (DEPs), for example, because engineered nanoparticles have tunable size, morphology, and chemistry while DEPs do not. The toxicity of engineered nanoparticles and nanophase materials may depend on the properties of the materials that are yet to be fully determined. Furthermore, techniques and standards for assessing risk and toxicity from exposure to engineered nanoparticles have not been agreed upon among researchers in federal agencies, industry, and academia. Important techniques needed for assessing exposure and impacts on biological systems (human species, animals, aquatic species, microbial community, and plants) remain to be developed and verified. The lack of metrology for nanotoxicological evaluation contributes much of the confusion in the current exposure/risk assessment framework, causes uncertainty in the prediction of toxicity of interested nanophase materials, and adds to the challenge of environmental and toxicological research. The lack of assessment technology is a critical issue for investors, either federal agencies who fund the research or industries that expect to profit from nanotechnology. We present a review of the existing technologies suitable for generation, characterization, and exposure of nanoparticles for biological and environmental research, and advances in techniques we have developed and are currently using in nanoparticle exposure research.

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