Engineered nanomaterials: Knowledge gaps in fate, exposure, toxicity, and future directions

Arun Kumar, Prashant Kumar*, Ananthitha Anandan, Teresa F. Fernandes, Godwin A. Ayoko, George Biskos

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    57 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The aim of this study is to identify current knowledge gaps in fate, exposure, and toxicity of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), highlight research gaps, and suggest future research directions. Humans and other living organisms are exposed to ENMs during production or use of products containing them. To assess the hazards of ENMs, it is important to assess their physiochemical properties and try to relate them to any observed hazard. However, the full determination of these relationships is currently limited by the lack of empirical data. Moreover, most toxicity studies do not use realistic environmental exposure conditions for determining dose-response parameters, affecting the accurate estimation of health risks associated with the exposure to ENMs. Regulatory aspects of nanotechnology are still developing and are currently the subject of much debate. Synthesis of available studies suggests a number of open questions. These include (i) developing a combination of different analytical methods for determining ENM concentration, size, shape, surface properties, and morphology in different environmental media, (ii) conducting toxicity studies using environmentally relevant exposure conditions and obtaining data relevant to developing quantitative nanostructure-toxicity relationships (QNTR), and (iii) developing guidelines for regulating exposure of ENMs in the environment.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number130198
    JournalJournal of Nanomaterials
    Volume2014
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2014

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Materials Science

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Engineered nanomaterials: Knowledge gaps in fate, exposure, toxicity, and future directions'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this