Are Nanoparticles Harmful?

The answer is that it depends upon the chemical composition. Just like all other chemicals, some will have beneficial and some will have toxic properties. Nanoparticles are part of nature; many types are in the air we breathe.

Nanoparticles are currently used in a number of different and harmless consumer products. Recently clay nanoparticles have made their way into composite materials for cars and packaging materials, where they offer transparency and increased strength. Sunscreens utilize nanoparticulate zinc oxide, and new anti-aging skin creams are being developed with nanoparticles. Nanoparticles are also being used in antiseptics, as abrasives, in paints, in new coatings for spectacles (making them scratchproof and unbreakable), for tiles, and in electrochromic or self-cleaning coatings for windows. Nanoparticles are the basis for new anti-graffiti coatings for walls and improved ski waxes and ceramic coatings for solar cells. Glues containing nanoparticles have optical properties that give rise to uses in optoelectronics. Casings containing nanoparticles are being developed that shield against electromagnetic interference.

In the laboratory, researchers working with unknown or new nanoparticles employ the laboratory safety measures and systems to minimize risk that they would employ when working with any unknown chemical substance.