User:Editsfordummies/Impact of nanotechnology

Impact of nanotechnology
Nanotechnology may make it possible to automate tasks that had previously been difficult to perform due to physical limitations, which may reduce the amount of labor, land, or maintenance that is required of humans as a result of nanotechnology.

Potential risks include environmental, health, and safety issues; transitional effects such as displacement of traditional industries as the products of nanotechnology become dominant, which are of concern to privacy rights advocates. If the potential negative effects of nanoparticles are overlooked, then this might prove especially important in the long run.

Whether nanotechnology merits special government regulation is a controversial issue. Regulatory bodies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate of the European Commission have started dealing with the potential risks of nanoparticles. The organic food sector has been the first to act with the regulated exclusion of engineered nanoparticles from certified organic produce, firstly in Australia and the UK, and more recently in Canada, as well as for all food certified to Demeter International standards.

Overview[edit]
The presence of nanomaterials (materials that contain nanoparticles) is not in itself a threat. It is only certain aspects that can make them risky, in particular their mobility and their increased reactivity. Only if certain properties of certain nanoparticles were harmful to living beings or the environment would we be faced with a genuine hazard. There is a possibility that nanopollution can be taken into account here.

In addressing the health and environmental impact of nanomaterials we need to differentiate between two types of nanostructures: (1) Nanocomposites, nanostructured surfaces, and nanocomponents (electronic, optical, sensors, etc.), where nanoscale particles are incorporated into a substance, material or device (“fixed” nano-particles); and (2) “free” nanoparticles, where at some stage in production or use individual nanoparticles of a substance are present. Free nanoparticles may could be nanoscale species of elements or simple compounds, or they may be complex compounds that have been coated with another substance (“coated” nanoparticles or “core-shell” nanoparticles).

There seems to be a consensus that, although one should be aware of materials containing fixed nanoparticles, the immediate concern is with free nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles are very different from their everyday counterparts, so their adverse effects cannot be derived from the known toxicity of the macro-sized material. This poses significant issues for addressing the health and environmental impact of free nanoparticles.

To complicate things further, in talking about nanoparticles it is important that a powder or liquid containing nanoparticles rarely be monodisperse, but contain instead a range of particle sizes. This complicates the experimental analysis as larger nanoparticles might have different properties from smaller ones. A number of nanoparticles exhibit a tendency to aggregate, and aggregated nanoparticles, despite their similarity, often behave differently from individual nanoparticles.

Health impact[edit]
The health impacts of nanotechnology are the possible effects that the use of nanotechnological materials and devices will have on human health. As nanotechnology is an emerging field, there is great debate regarding to what extent nanotechnology will benefit or pose risks to human health. Nanotechnology's health impacts can be split into two aspects: the potential for nanotechnological innovations to have medical applications to cure disease, and the potential health hazards posed by exposure to nanomaterials.

Regarding the current global pandemic, researchers, engineers, and medical professionals are using an extremely developed collection of nanoscience and nanotechnology approaches to explore the ways it could potentially help the medical, technical, and scientific communities fight the pandemic.

Medical applications[edit]
Main article: Nanomedicine

Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. The approaches to nanomedicine range from the medical use of nanomaterials to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology. Nanomedicine seeks to deliver a valuable set of research tools and clinically helpful devices soon. The National Nanotechnology Initiative expects new commercial applications in the pharmaceutical industry that may include advanced drug delivery systems, new therapies, and in vivo imaging. Neuro-electronic interfaces and other nanoelectronics-based sensors are another active goal of research. Further down the line, the speculative field of molecular nanotechnology believes that cell repair machines could revolutionize medicine and the medical field.

Nanomedicine research is directly funded, with the US National Institutes of Health in 2005 funding a five-year plan to set up four nanomedicine centers. In April 2006, the journal Nature Materials estimated that 130 nanotech-based drugs and delivery systems were being developed worldwide. Nanomedicine is a large industry, with nanomedicine sales reaching $6.8 billion in 2004. With over 200 companies and 38 products worldwide, a minimum of $3.8 billion in nanotechnology R&D is being invested every year. As the nanomedicine industry continues to grow, it is expected to have a significant impact on the economy.

Health hazards[edit]
Main article: Nanotoxicology

Nanotoxicology is the field that studies the potential health risks of nanomaterials. The extremely small size of nanomaterials means that they are much more readily taken up by the human body than larger-sized particles. How these nanoparticles behave inside the organism is one of the significant issues that need to be resolved. The behavior of nanoparticles is a function of their size, shape, and surface reactivity with the surrounding tissue. By overworking phagocytes, it can lead to an over examination that leads to an overactivation of the immune system, which, in turn, may lead to inflammation and a weaker defense against other pathogens. A phagocyte is a cell that ingests and destroys foreign matter, so it is important to avoid them.

Apart from what happens if non-degradable or slowly degradable nanoparticles accumulate in organs, another concern is their potential interaction with biological processes inside the body: because of their large surface, nanoparticles on exposure to tissue and fluids will immediately adsorb onto their surface some of the macromolecules they encounter. This may, for instance, affect the regulatory mechanisms of enzymes and other proteins. The large number of variables influencing toxicity means that it is difficult to generalize about health risks associated with exposure to nanomaterials – each new nanomaterial must be assessed individually and all material properties must be taken into account. Health and environmental issues combine in the workplace of companies engaged in producing or using nanomaterials and in the laboratories engaged in nanoscience and nanotechnology research. Dust exposure standards cannot be directly applied to nanoparticle dust based on current workplace exposure standards.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has conducted initial research on how nanoparticles interact with the body's systems and how workers might be exposed to nano-sized particles in the manufacturing or industrial use of nanomaterials. NIOSH currently offers interim guidelines for working with nanomaterials consistent with the best scientific knowledge. At The National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory of NIOSH, studies investigating the filter penetration of nanoparticles on NIOSH-certified and EU-marked respirators, as well as non-certified dust masks have been conducted. As a result of these studies, it was discovered that particles with a size range between 30 and 100 nanometers penetrate the deepest into the respiratory system of the test animals, and that the size of the leak was one of the most important factors influencing the amount of nanoparticles inside them.

Other properties of nanomaterials that influence toxicity include chemical composition, shape, surface structure, surface charge, aggregation and solubility, and the presence or absence of functional groups of other chemicals. The large number of variables influencing toxicity means that it is difficult to generalize about health risks associated with exposure to nanomaterials – each new nanomaterial must be assessed individually and all material properties must be taken into account.

Literature reviews have shown that the release of engineered nanoparticles and incurred personal exposure can happen during different work activities. The situation alerts regulatory bodies to necessitate prevention strategies and regulations at nanotechnology workplaces.

Environmental impact[edit]
The environmental impact of nanotechnology is the possible effects that the use of nanotechnological materials and devices will have on the environment. As nanotechnology is an emerging field, there is debate regarding to what extent industrial and commercial use of nanomaterials will affect organisms and ecosystems.

Nanotechnology's environmental impact can be split into two aspects: the potential for nanotechnological innovations to help improve the environment, and the possibly novel type of pollution that nanotechnological materials might cause if released into the environment.

Environmental applications[edit]
Main article: Green nanotechnology

Green nanotechnology refers to the use of nanotechnology to enhance the environmental sustainability of processes producing negative externalities. It also refers to the use of the products of nanotechnology to enhance sustainability. It includes making green nano-products and using nano-products in support of sustainability. Developed from the concept of developing clean technologies, to reduce environmental and human health risks associated with the nanotechnology products, green nanotechnology is essentially the development of new technologies (nano-products) that are more environmentally friendly throughout their entire lifecycle and that minimize the potential environmental and human health risks associated with the manufacture and use of nanotechnology products.

Green nanotechnology has two goals: producing nanomaterials and products without harming the environment or human health and producing nano-products that provide solutions to environmental problems. It uses existing principles of green chemistry and green engineering to make nanomaterials and nano-products without toxic ingredients, at low temperatures using less energy and renewable inputs wherever possible, and using lifecycle thinking in all design and engineering stages.

Addon Article: Assembly of 3D nanostructures

Hierarchical nanostructures are three-dimensional (3D) materials, that gradually grow from one parent structure into a more complex form. Constructing 3D nanostructures is an important topic in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Using building blocks such as biomolecules or organic molecules; this kind of 3D nanostructures can be synthesized. Along with creating such structures, this can be overall completed by physical and chemical means. Physical techniques consist of the workshop of functionalized nanoparticles on surfaces by physical forces; Whilst chemistry techniques are continuously used to control the deposition of nanoparticles. It fabricated wistfully an image of 3D nanostructures that can give a reader an the idea of how they are made. A report from the first making on 3D and self-supported free-standing mesoscopic structures entails those nanoparticles exhibited a classical position-dependent behavior of homogenous single-beam bridge with a bending modulus.

Pollution[edit]
Main article: Nanomaterials pollution

Nanopollution is a generic name for all waste generated by nanodevices or during the nanomaterials manufacturing process. Nanowaste is mainly the group of particles that are released into the environment or the particles that are thrown away when still on their products.

Social impact[edit]
Main article: Societal impact of nanotechnology

Beyond the toxicity risks to human health and the environment that are associated with first-generation nanomaterials, nanotechnology has a broader societal impact and poses broader social challenges. Social scientists have suggested that nanotechnology's social issues should be understood and assessed not simply as "downstream" risks or impacts. To ensure technology development meets social objectives, it's important to consider the challenges during upstream research as well as decision-making processes.

Many social scientists and organizations in civil society suggest that technology assessment and governance should also involve public participation. The exploration of the stakeholder's perception is also an essential component in assessing the large amount of risk associated with nanotechnology and nano-related products.

Over 800 nano-related patents were granted in 2003, with numbers increasing to nearly 19,000 internationally by 2012. Corporations are already taking out broad-ranging patents on nanoscale discoveries and inventions. For example, two corporations, NEC and IBM, hold the basic patents on carbon nanotubes, one of the current cornerstones of nanotechnology. Carbon nanotubes have a wide range of uses and look set to become crucial to several industries from electronics and computers, to strengthened materials to drug delivery and diagnostics. [citation needed]

Nanotechnologies may provide new solutions for the millions of people in developing countries who lack access to basic services, such as safe water, reliable energy, health care, and education. The 2004 UN Task Force on Science, Technology, and Innovation noted that some of the advantages of nanotechnology include production using little labor, land, or maintenance, high productivity, low cost, and modest requirements for materials and energy. In spite of these concerns, it has been widely reported that nanotechnology will not have an equal distribution of benefits, and that any positive impacts (whether technical and/or economic) associated with nanotechnology will only benefit wealthy nations.

Longer-term concerns center on the impact that new technologies will have on society at large, and whether these could lead to either a post-scarcity economy, or exacerbate the wealth gap between developed and developing nations. The effects of nanotechnology on society as a whole, on human health and the environment, on trade, on security, on food systems, and even on the definition of "human", have not been characterized or politicized.

Regulation[edit]
Main article: Regulation of nanotechnology

Significant debate exists relating to the question of whether nanotechnology or nanotechnology-based products merit special government regulation. This debate is related to the circumstances in which it is necessary and appropriate to assess new substances before their release into the market, community, and environment.

Regulatory bodies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. or the Health & Consumer Protection Directorate of the European Commission have started dealing with the potential risks posed by nanoparticles. So far, neither engineered nanoparticles nor the products and materials that contain them are subject to any special regulations regarding production, handling, or labeling. The Material Safety Data Sheet that must be issued for some materials often does not differentiate between the bulk and nanoscale size of the material in question and even when it does these MSDS are advisory only. Nanotechnology's rapid growth and new developments have large implications for the traditional food and agricultural sectors, which in turn will lead to regulations, such as the invention of smart and active packaging, nanosensors, nanopesticides, and nanofertilizers, which will result in regulations.

There are potential health and safety risks associated with nanotechnology, which may be exacerbated by a lack of nanotechnology labeling and regulation. It has been argued that the development of comprehensive regulation of nanotechnology will be vital to ensure that the potential risks associated with the research and commercial application of nanotechnology do not overshadow its potential benefits. Regulation may also be required to meet community expectations about the responsible development of nanotechnology, as well as ensure that public interests are included in shaping the development of nanotechnology.

In 2008, E. Marla Felcher "The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Nanotechnology," suggested that the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is charged with protecting the public against unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with consumer products, is ill-equipped to oversee the safety of complex, high-tech products made using nanotechnology.