NanomedicineCenter.com

A new book about nanotech risks

Jo Anne Shatkin, the managing director of CLF Ventures, Inc., who has a strong education background, has published a book called „Nanotechnology: Health and Environmental Risks“.

We all know that nanotechnology is useful in so many segments of life. It makes many things easier and more comfortable… but is it completely without risk?

„Many products based on nanotechnology are hitting the market, and I thought a risk analysis can help.“ says Shatkin.

Socks that don’t smell and shiny phones are just drops in the sea of nanotech products. „We really don’t know what the risks are.“ says Shatkin.

The book will be presented by Shatkin herself at the WPI campus at 3PM, November 6th.

Nanotechnology is still not 100% safe

Many researchers believe that more studies and research need to be done in order to ensure the safety of nanomaterials that are used by humans. Unwanted health problems are the last thing scientists want to happen when doing a nanotech / nanomedicine procedure on a patient.

Some people say that nanomaterials aren’t safe, but generalization is of no use here. Each nanomaterial is different. That means that some aren’t dangerous, while some have some „bad“ signs.

There are many things that impact the nanomaterials’ behavior. One of them is how the material is being imported in the organism (mouth, nose or skin).

Testings on zebrafishes are giving a lot of information to scientists and they hope that the whole process will grow in the future and that they will be able to improve the safety.

The most powerful microscope in the world

At the McMaster University in Canada, a new microscope has been installed last year. It is the most powerful microscope in the world and it’s about to make Canada the leader in nanotechnology research.

TITAN 80-300 Cubed was built by FEI, a company from Holland. The production was very expensive (topping $15 million), but it’s use justified all the expenses. The quantity of products that can be examined by using this „machine“ is enormous. It is used for several research areas, such as drug delivery, solar cells and more.

„What the Hubble telescope is for the atomic level, Titan is for the nano level.“ says Gianluigi Botton of McMaster University. „We are the only university in the world who’s got this kind of microscope. It is very powerful and it’s very useful to us.“

„This is making Canada the leader of the fast-growing nanotechnology research.“ say McMaster University representatives.