There's plenty of room at the forum: Potential risks and safety assessment of engineered nanomaterials

Abstract

The celebrated physicist and Nobel laureate Richard Feynman was the first to predict the opportunities presented by the manipulation of matter at the level of individual atoms and molecules. Today, almost 50 years after his classic lecture on the wonders of the small world, the evolving nanotechnologies have the potential to bring about major changes in the lives of citizens. However, the very same properties that make engineered nanomaterials so promising from a technological perspective, such as their high degree of reactivity and the ability to cross biological barriers, could also make these novel materials harmful to human health and the environment. Therefore, exploitation of the full potential of the nanotechnologies requires close attention to safety issues. The 1st Nobel Forum mini-symposium on nanotoxicology was recently held in Stockholm, Sweden, and the program was devoted to the topic of definitions and standardization in nanotoxicological research, as well as nano-specific risk assessment and regulatory/legislative issues. Examples of recent and ongoing studies of carbon-based nanomaterials, including single-walled carbon nanotubes, using a wide range of in vitro and in vivo model systems were also presented. The current review will provide some highlights and conclusions from this exciting meeting.

• Nanotoxicology
• carbon nanotubes
• inflammation
• pulmonary exposure
• risk assessment

Acknowledgements

The present review is based on the 1st Nobel Forum mini-symposium on Nanotoxicology: Potential Risks and Safety Assessment, held at the Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, 27 November 2006 (Organizers: Bengt Fadeel and Lars Wiklund; Chairman: Bengt Fadeel). The symposium was sponsored by the Swedish Society of Toxicology and the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet. The organizers are grateful to Eva Hellsten, Environment Directorate-General, European Commission, for her excellent presentation at the symposium.