Risk assessment of nanotechnology

1. Risk assessment of nanotechnology Wesley E. Smith, Ph.D. Senior Fellow CEEH http://thereadingroom.epsilonfoundation.com.au/technology/nano-tech-godzilla/

2. Outline • What is nanotechnology? • What is the state of nanotechnology risk assessment? • What is happening at the UW?

3. What is nanotechnology?

4. How big is a nanometer (nm)? • A humanhairdivided 100,000X • Sheet of paper is about 100,000 nmthick. • Blondhair is probably 15,000 to 50,000 nmin diameter, butblackhair is likely to bebetween 50,000 and 180,000 nm. • Thereare 25,400,000 nmin an inch. • A nanometer is a millionth of a millimeter (10-9) http://www.nano.gov/html/facts/whatIsNano.html

5. http://www.nano.gov/html/facts/The_scale_of_things.html

6. What is nanotechnology? • “Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications” • Involves multiple disciplines, including science, engineering and technology • “Wet” –involving aqueous systems • “Dry”-surface chemistry, semiconductors • Computational-modeling nanosystems • Nanosized particles (NSPs)

7. Promises of Nanotechnology Clean, secureaffordableenergy prototypesolarpanelsoffer the possibility of beingmoreefficient. Likewise, nanotechnology is beingemployed in fuelcelldevelopment CleanWater variousnanomaterialshold the potential for the detection of impurities (pollutants, microbes, etc), as well as removal of them http://www.nano.gov/html/facts/home_facts.html

9. What is special (scary) aboutnano? • Unusualphysical, chemical, and biologicalcharacteristics at nanoscale • Individualnanoparticleshavedifferentpropertiesthanbulksolution • Greatersurfacearea/volume-potentiallymorereactive • Ability to manipulateindividualparticles

10. Currentapplications of nanotech Nano-Care® StressfreeKhakis-(Gap)‏ “NanoémulsionPeauxSensibles Calming Emulsion”-(Chanel)‏ “The Samsung 65-nm 8-Gbit NAND flash (K9G8G08U0M)”-(Apple)‏ • Public inventory: http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/

11. Where is nanotechnology? http://www.nanotechproject.org/maps/mappage.html

13. What is the state of nanotechnology risk assessment?

14. Donanomaterialspresent a risk to human and environmentalhealth? • The verysamephysical and chemicalcharacteristics of nanomaterialsthatgivepromise, alsohave the potential for peril. • Effectsarenotwellcharacterized. • Ultrafineparticles (UFPs) generallycausemoretoxicity in lungmodels • Reactivity of someparticlesincreases as surfacearea-volumeratioincreases • Represents a veryimportantneed for research.

15. Key Words of Toxicology Dose / Response Hazard X Exposure = Risk Individual Susceptibility

16. Key Words of Toxicology Dose / Response Hazard X Exposure = Risk Individual Susceptibility

17. Who is at risk? • Humans • Workers • Consumers • Susceptible: elderly and children • Wildlife • Aquatic life • Terrrestial life • Ecosystem • Flora • Fauna

18. Biodistribution

19. Federal oversight • NNI has provisions for funding for environmental, health, and safety studies (EHS) • Under the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology subcommittee (NSET), Nanotechnology Environmental Health Implications working group (NEHI WG) functions as an interagency forum on understanding potential risks of nanotech.

20. NNI EHS Document • Strategy for Nanotechnology-relatedEnvironmental, Health, and SafetyResearch • In FY2006, $68 millioninvested into 246 projects at 7 agencies. • Summarizesprimaryresearchcategories: • Instrumentation, Metrology, and AnalyticalMethods • Nanomaterials and Human Health • Nanomaterials and the Environment • Human and EnvironmentalExposureAssessment • Risk Management Methods

21. Strategy for Nanotechnology-related Environmental, Health, and Safety research • Who is responsible? • National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) • Instrumentation, metrology, and analytical methods • National Institutes of Health (NIH) • Nanomaterials and human health • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Nanomaterials and the environment • National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) • Human and environmental exposure assessment • Food and Drug Administration (FDA) • Risk management (also EPA)

22. Role of nanotechnology-related EHS research in risk management of nanomaterials

23. Key Words of Toxicology Dose / Response Hazard X Exposure = Risk Individual Susceptibility

24. Research at the UW • Toxicology of Quantum Dots • Kavanagh (DEOHS) • Gao (BIOE) • Multiple in vitro cell lines • Transgenic mice • Various routes of exposure

25. Applications of Qdots • Medical imaging • Cancer • Diagnostics • Therapeutics • Biological imaging agent • “Tag” proteins • Monitor cellular uptake Gao, Nature,

26. Why are Qdots special?

27. Why examine the liver? • Primary site of xenobiotic metabolism • Common site of toxicity • Resident macrophages sequester • bacteria from gut http://www.flickr.com/photos/mitopencourseware/

28. Architecture of liver sinusoid http://www.flickr.com/photos/mitopencourseware/

29. Experimental setup • Dose-response relationships evaluated: • Uptake • Viability (MTT) • GSH levels • Cell death

31. Disposition of Qdots in cultured human hepatocytes

32. Summary and conclusions • Qdots are sequestered by a subpopulation of cells in human hepatocyte cultures • Stable Qdots have no effect on viability of human hepatocytesin vitro • Thus far, this preparation of Qdots does not appear to be hepatotoxic