Drobne Damjana
Department of Biology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Arh Hig Rada Toksikol. 2007 Dec;58(4):471-8. doi: 10.2478/v10004-007-0040-4.
Nanotechnology is the term given to those areas of science and engineering where the phenomena take place at nanoscale dimensions. Nanoparticles are particles with <100 nm in one dimension. They have different physical, chemical, electrical and optical properties than those that occur in bulk samples of the same material. Understanding these nanoscale properties and finding ways to engineer new nanomaterials will have a revolutionary impact, from more efficient energy generation and data storage to improved methods for diagnosing and treating diseases. Nanotechnology is poised to become a major factor in the world's economy and part of our everyday lives in the near future. Hundreds of tonnes of nanoparticles already enter the environment annually, but still very little is known of their interactions with biological systems. Recent studies indicate that some nanoparticles are not completely benign to biological and environmental targets. The challenge for toxicologists is to identify key factors that can be used to predict toxicity, permit targeted screening, and allow material scientists to generate new, safer nanoparticles with this structure-toxicity information in mind. The aim of this paper is to summarize some known facts about nanomaterials and discuss future perspectives, regulatory issues and tasks of the emerging branch of toxicology, that is, nanotoxicology.
纳米技术是指科学与工程领域中那些现象发生在纳米尺度的领域。纳米粒子是在一维方向上尺寸小于100纳米的粒子。它们具有与相同材料的块状样品不同的物理、化学、电学和光学性质。了解这些纳米尺度的性质并找到设计新型纳米材料的方法，将产生革命性的影响，从更高效的能源生产和数据存储到改进疾病诊断和治疗方法。纳米技术在不久的将来有望成为世界经济的一个主要因素，并融入我们的日常生活。每年已有数百吨纳米粒子进入环境，但人们对它们与生物系统的相互作用仍知之甚少。最近的研究表明，一些纳米粒子对生物和环境目标并非完全无害。毒理学家面临的挑战是确定可用于预测毒性、进行靶向筛选的关键因素，并让材料科学家在考虑这种结构-毒性信息的情况下，制造出新的、更安全的纳米粒子。本文的目的是总结一些关于纳米材料的已知事实，并讨论新兴毒理学分支——纳米毒理学的未来前景、监管问题和任务。
