Nowadays, scientists are constantly attempting to discover new technologies

in order to meet the demand for rapid development in the modern world.

Nanotechnology, which was germinated since 1959 by Richard Feynman,

has been implemented for various areas, composing food, medicine,

cosmetics and surfaces. According to the US National Nanotechnology

Initiative, nanotechnology is defined as science, engineering, and

technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers.

One nanometer is a billionth of a meter and similar to the size of a marble in

comparison with the Earth (ibid.).

Nanotechnology, however, is hot-debated towards the field of health. On the

one hand, its marvellous power has been recognized as ‘far stranger than

fiction can imagine’ (Lawkhwani, 2011) and covered in several medical

cases such as drug delivery, tissue engineering and blood purification (The

UK Royal Society & The Royal Academy of Engineering, 2004). On the

other hand, nanotechnology still holds uncertain effects on human body. The

question arises as how nanoparticles behave inside our body (SCENIHR,

2006).

This essay aims to evaluate the health concerns related to this technology.

The auspicious advantages of employing nanotechnology are first

considered, followed by possible detriments, including evidence from the

size and chemical composition.

1. Potential opportunities

1.1. Medical implants

As remarked by the UK Royal Society & The Royal Academy of

Engineering (2004), conventional implant apparatuses, such as orthopaedic

implants and heart valves, remain a technological bottleneck. Under some

circumstances, they may no longer be used within patients’ lifetime despite

being biocompatible.

Fortunately, scientists could stop being anxious about this problem by means

of nanotechnology. Nanocomposites are considered as strong, light weight

and biocompatible with the human body. Hence, it may be used as part of

tissue engineering to help restore or maintain or improve tissue function

using suitable nanomaterial-based structures and growth factors. For

instance, nanocrystalline zirconium oxide (zirconia) performs appealingly as

an option for implants due to being ‘hard, wear-resistant and bio-corrosion

resistant’. In combination with other nanoceramics, it could also develop into

aerogels that has high strength and low weight by sol-gel techniques.

Nanocrystalline silicon carbide, additionally, which is light, strong and inert,

presents excellent alternative for artificial heart valves (ibid.). And

especially, gold- coated nanoshells activated by an infrared laser was

demonstrated to fuse two pieces of chicken meat into a single piece, making

the possibility of arterial weld during surgery (Gobin et al., 2005).

Page 2 of 7
1.2. Cancer treatment

Current methods, for instance surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy,

only restrict to some extent of inhibiting cancer cells and lack for selectivity

as well as run a risk of relapse (Jabir et al., 2012). Nevertheless,

nanotechnology provides enormous opportunities surmounting those

challenges. Optimised nanoparticles are regarded as powerful therapeutic

tools that not only disseminate efficiently and are endurable with sheer drug

volume but approach substances that either absorb or repel water in diverse

routes as well (ibid.).

As Jabir et al. cited, ‘a synthesis of biocompatible triplex

Ag@SiO2@mTiO2 core–shell nanoparticle’ was first introduced by Wang et

al. in 2012. This contributes to a new era of imaging with high speed and

being suitable to F-SERS tag [a technique can detect low concentrations of

chemical by using molecules in order to collect vibrational fluorescence

(Sharma et al., 2012)] as well as holding drug for cancer treatment.

In addition, in the report, Jabir et al. recommended the work of Ferguson et

al. (2012). He functionalised iron oxide nanoparticles as radioactive

substances for imaging in an attempt to track strange deposition and resolve

spatial issues. The results was recognized to be better than those of

commercial nanoparticles created for magnetic resonance imaging MRI [a

type of cancer imaging techniques without the aid of surgical resection

(ibid.)].

Page 3 of 7
Last but not least, the authors appreciated the study of Puvanakrishnan et al.

(2012) which deals with gold nanorods for high-contrast imaging in specific

sense organs, allowing doctors to navigate tumour growth during surgery

(Jabir et al., 2012).

1.3. Blood purification

Along with astonishing contributions, the standard filtration approaches of

blood purification imposes some limitations with regard to incompatible

physicochemical features (such as mass, size, charge) and saturation of high-

molecule compounds, i.e. proteins (Stark et al, 2011). On the contrary, as

Stark reported, placing target-specific iron nanomagnets into extrinsic blood

purification device induces outstanding results.

To be more detailed, special substances are attached on mobile diminutive

magnetic nanoparticles with the aim of eliminating poisons. The whole

process deals with each small amounts of blood, then the nanoparticles which

holds noxious compounds can be instantaneously expelled from the blood.

Ultimately, the separation extent of 75% digoxin and 40% interleukin-1b,

with which blood was spiked, was attained. It took 30 minutes to diffuse the

nanomagnets, and 90 minutes of filtering up to 90% the whole blood (Stark,

2011).

Using nanomagnetic separated blood purification has already been widened

in clinical scale. In the future, this promisingly special technique brings hope
Page 4 of 7
for patients who have complicate trouble with sepsis and autoimmune, for

example (ibid.).

2. Possible detriments

2.1. Size

According to SCENIHR (2006), the tiny dimension of nanoparticles mainly

occasions its noxious impacts on human health. More specifically, if larger

sized particles exist in human body, they are usually eaten by specialised

phagocytes in the blood. Nanomaterials, in contrast, through respiratory and

dermal contact, are able to infiltrate biological membranes and enter blood

vessels because of the diminutive size. Afterwards, those molecules could be

carried to and absorbed by internal organs, composing the, brain, heart, liver,

lung, spleen, and intestine (ibid.).

In 2005, Oberdörster et al. have demonstrated destruction of nanomaterials

into tissue and cell development. The adverse effects were recorded in

oxidative pressure, inflammatory cytokine production and cell death.

Furthermore, when cell nucleus absorbs nanoparticles, it would refuse

decisive roles such as mobility and ability to eliminate bacteria (The UK

Royal Society & The Royal Academy of Engineering, 2004). The Health &

Environment Alliance (HEAL) also cited the study of Nel et al. (2003) which

showed the possibility of nanomaterials to change DNA structure and

produce harmful effects in releasing energy of cells, and even cell death.

Page 5 of 7
2.2. Chemical composition

As The UK Royal Society and The Royal of Academy Engineering (2006)

remarked, the presence of nanoparticle in the surface fosters oxidize respond,

forming various nanocompounds such as carbon fullerenes, carbon nanotubes

and metal oxides. This essay only deals with the toxicity of titanium dioxide

and carbon fullerenes on human health.

2.2.1. Titanium dioxide

Manufactures take advantage of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in develop

sunscreens, cosmetics, and personal care products. As a matter of fact,

titanium dioxide is photoactive that reduce the formation of diseases (ibid.).

However, following the study of Donaldson et al. (1996) and Long et al.

(2006), a report of HEAL (2008) indicated the opposite side. After 24 hours

exposure, damaged entirely supercoiled DNA, disturbed cellular function and

killed brain immune cells. In addition, HEAL showed DNA connection

damages of human mainly relating to titanium dioxide by Dunford et al.

(1997). Moreover, photo-activated titanium dioxide nanoparticles was found

to cause cancer of skin and colon lining in experiments of Zhang et al. 2004

and Wamer et al. 1997 (ibid.).

2.2.2. Carbon fullerenes

In the same report of HEAL (2008). Carbon fullerenes (“buckyballs”), which

is popular in some face creams and moisturisers, have been proved to

connect fish brain damage, water fleas’ death by Oberdörster et al. (2004)

Page 6 of 7
Basing on the work of Fortner et al. (2004), HEAL have also demonstrated

the toxicity of water soluble fullerenes on human liver, the lining of intestine

and skin connective tissue even in small amount of exposure. This raises

serious concerns that whether fullerenes would ‘eat’ cell nuclei when

accessing to human cells. Additionally, a study of Rouse et al. (2006) is

mentioned to point out fullerene-based amino acid damaged human skin

cells. And in the presence of biological reducing agents (e.g. NADH) similar

to the concentrations found in biological systems, photoactivated fullerenes

destroyed supercoiled DNA following test tube studies Goda 2003 (ibid.)’

To summarize, the outcome of nanotechnology on human health remains

neutral. On the one hand, nanotechnology stimulates the development of

medical techniques, rescuing several people from death and opening a new

era of medicine that we may never imagine. On the other hand, it also

possesses negative impacts on human body, bringing awkward challenges

which cannot be ignored. Hence, there is a need of more accurate and reliable

scientific publications about plausible risks of nanoparticles as well as

detriments associated with nanosized materials. At the same time, the value

of nanotechnology is recommended to be recognized properly so as to make

great progress in the future.

Page 7 of 7