Finding fallibility

Nanomaterials can already be found in sunscreens, concrete, tennis rackets, car bumpers and wrinkle-resistant clothes. But are they safe?

Through a new four-year, $1.8-million US National Science Foundation grant, Brown University scientists are testing a variety of nanomaterials to see how they interact with human and animal cells. Their aim is to find out which sizes, shapes, compounds and coatings damage or kill cells. That information will then be used to manufacture non-toxic types.

“The question isn’t whether nanomaterials are good or bad,” said Robert Hurt, a Brown professor of engineering and the lead investigator on the project. “The question is which are toxic? Under what conditions? And can we make and purify them in different ways to avoid toxicity – to make ‘green’ nanomaterials?”

The grant supports important early work at Brown in an emerging field of environmental health.

According to the Institute of Medicine, the US government last year invested nearly $1 billion in nanotechnology, yet little is known about how engineered nanoparticles affect human health. To fill the knowledge gap, the National Science Foundation and other government agencies are spending a total of $38.4 million this fiscal year in research on the environmental, health and safety aspects of nanomaterials. A journal, Nanotoxicology, was launched this year along with the first database of research on the biological and environmental impacts of nanoparticles.