(NHI Nanoblog) Nina Quadros is spraying disinfectant in her lab — so she can find out what you’re breathing in when you use it.
Specifically, she’s looking for super-tiny “nanoparticles” that are supposed to make cleaning products better, but also may prove dangerous to have around our soil, water and bodies.
We know there are hundreds of products containing super-tiny “nanomaterials” on the market, from sunscreens to tennis rackets. But what’s actually in the bottles on the shelves of your local sporting-goods shop or drugstore?
Quadros, a doctoral student at Virginia Tech, decided to find out.
Gwyneth K. Shaw Photo
Quadros (pictured) bought three products containing silver — a disinfectant, a throat spray and a product aimed at letting hunters mask their scent while stalking prey — and set up an experiment to measure what came out in each spray jet.
What she found is that while the concentration of nanosilver in each liquid is relatively low, there were plenty of silver particles released by the spray.
“There’s a real potential for nanoparticle emission in domestic environments,” Quadros said.
That’s a concern because it remains unclear what nanosilver, prized for its anti-microbial properties, might do to people and the environment. Studies have already shown that silver used in anti-stink workout clothes — often advertised as permanently embedded in the fabric—turns up in wash water. Scientists at Virginia Tech have also found it in end-stage sewage sludge.
Silver was a hot topic at this week’s International Conference on the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology, held at Duke University. The school is a partner in the Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Silver has been used for centuries as a disinfectant, but as with many other nanomaterials, the super-small particles may be introducing new risks. These types of materials — a nanometer is a billionth of a meter — hold great promise for products ranging from bike frames to targeted cancer treatments. Scientists and regulators are struggling to figure out how these engineered substances impact both people and the world around us.
The vast majority of studies involving nanoparticles are done in the test tube or petri dish, often using cells from animals or fish. Quadros said she wanted to look at products, rather than particles, because “nano consumer products would be the most likely route for exposure.”
This study had some surprising results, including that two bottles of the same hunter’s spray, purchased five months apart, were completely different when tested. One bottle contained virtually no silver, Quadros said, while the other had lots.
In the lab where she works, she’s known for taking deliveries from Amazon.com, where nano-related products are easy to find — and shipped quickly.
“My colleagues, when they see a cardboard box, just say, ‘That’s for Nina,’‘’ she said.