Invisible, but dangerous
Scientists called the danger of nanomaterials for health
Nanoparticles, which are added to many food and cosmetics today to improve their consumer qualities, pose a real threat to health and life, as they accumulate in human cells and organs. This conclusion was reached by scientists who published the results of their study in the journal Nature Communications (Monikh et al., Particle number-based trophic transfer of gold nanomaterials in an aquatic food chain).
Nanotechnology is changing everyday life. Thanks to them, doctors have learned to treat many diseases more effectively, and engineers have created materials that are a hundred times stronger than steel, batteries that last ten times longer, or solar panels that produce twice as much energy. Not to mention the wonderful skin care products, self-cleaning cars and other innovations that were previously only present in science fiction films, but now have become a reality.
Many modern technologies involve the use of nanomaterials in the production of food, cosmetics and clothing. At the same time, the use of these materials is not limited by law, and they are not mentioned in the lists of ingredients. This is of concern to scientists, because nanomaterials that can penetrate human cells can be very dangerous.
Researchers from Finland, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, the UK, India and Spain have joined forces to track how nanoparticles contained in food behave in food chains. To do this, they have developed a sensitive method for finding and tracking gold nanoparticles throughout the aquatic food chain, from microorganisms to fish, which is the main food source in many countries.
"We found that nanomaterials bind strongly with microorganisms that serve as food for larger animals and, eventually, can get into our food chain," the press release says. University of Eastern Finland, the words of the lead author of the study, Dr. Fazel Monikh (Fazel Monikh). – Once in the body, nanoparticles change their shape and size and turn into more dangerous forms that easily penetrate cells. We found that nanomaterials tend to accumulate in various organs, especially in the brain."
According to the researchers, the amount of nanomaterials in the body as a whole or in individual organs is very difficult to measure by standard methods, so it is not yet possible to create appropriate safety standards.
"You may already be using nanomaterials in your food, clothing, cosmetic products, but you still don't know about it because they are very small and we just can't measure them," says Dr. Monih. – But people have the right to know what they are buying and using. This is a global problem that requires a global solution. There are still many questions to be answered about nanomaterials: whether they are safe for us and the environment, where they settle after we have finished using them, and how the possible risk can be assessed."
The authors emphasize the important role of scientists who, through their research, should help policy makers to introduce stricter rules for the use of nanomaterials and nanotechnology.
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