Nano Disaster or Nano Solutions?

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Nanoparticles are used in a variety of materials for their beneficial effects. And have possible benefits in a number of areas for both the medical fields and simply making life easier for most people. But there can also be a dark side, as in every new discovery.

Nanoparticles are not a new material in many respects, they just happen to be much smaller than the typical clump of anything. Nanoparticles are commonly defined as being between 10-100 nanometers (nm) in one dimension. A nanometer is 1 *10-12 meters, a nanoparticle is approximately ten thousand time smaller than a human hair.
Another way to look at it is to convert from inches to nanometers, 1 (one) inch is equal to 25,400,000 nanometers.

One nanoparticle in use is nano silver, which has an antimicrobial effect, the benefit of such a nanoparticle was realized by developers of men's and women's socks which never develop that very distinctive odor common to all gymnasium locker rooms.

Socks with nano silver particles though, vary widely in their ability to retain the nanosilver through the typical wash cycle even in room temperature water.

In April, scientists at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans tested six different types of socks, all containing silver nanoparticles to minimize odor. Some of the socks released all of the silver nanoparticles they contained when washed in room-temperature water; others leaked no silver at all.

The release of the silver nanoparticles may not pose a hazard in small quantities, but there have been no studies on the long term effects of nanosilver particles on the environment.

There have though, been studies which show that all silver releases silver ions, which is harmful to most aquatic plants. The issue then surrounds the ability of nanoparticles being able by virtue of their extremely small size , able to release silver ions at a rate much faster than a clump of silver. The release of silver ions into a body of water such as any of the worlds oceans then poses a risk for phytoplankton.

Since phytoplankton's make up the bulk of the bottom of the food chain in the worlds oceans, this could be a disaster waiting for a place to happen. It could also turn out to be a tempest in a teapot, or nothing at all to worry about. The real answers to the question will not be found without serious study being done to find out just how far the nanoparticles can travel before aggregating together and reducing the risk to all creatures great and small.

There does happen to be a nanoparticle database available to the general public for free. The database has lists of companies using nanoparticles including nanosilver in their products, An informed public has the ability to make rational choices based on information and personal choice. That is the free market economy operating as it was intended to.

The web address for the nanowerk website based in Honolulu is here.

A quick search through the database shows 64 companies using or producing nanosilver including Bio Gate which produces HyGate as an antimicrobial for polymer and fiber applications.

The debate as regards the safety of nanoparticles, nanoclusters (smaller than nanoparticles), nanowires, nanotubes and the rest of the nano industry's production will not be answered soon, and perhaps never completely but it is at least time to start looking for the answers before we find out too late what the problems may be.

And despite all the risks involved there are a great many benefits to be found, if we can only do it safely and with at least a modicum of common sense.