N.C. State University
N.C. State pharmacology professor Jim Riviere, one of the study’s three authors.
(NHI Nanoblog)Three North Carolina State University researchers report developing a way to predict what will happen when nanoparticles interact with “biological systems” (read: humans and other living things). Their work could help scientists and regulators figure out which nanomaterials are harmless to people, animals and the environment, and which are dangerous.
According to an N.C. State press release, researchers JIm Riviere, Nancy Monteiro-Riviere and Xin-Rui Xia used existing knowledge about how nanoparticles bind with various proteins and amino acids to set up a system for gauging how that binding would affect biological organisms. They then applied their method to a dozen organisms, creating an index of effects.
The three scientists’ paper appeared in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
The safety of nanomaterials — a major question in the burgeoning nanotechnology field — is a highly-studied subject these days. Government agencies, such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, are working to find out who’s at risk in working with these super-small materials, and how to protect them, and scientists around the world are following suit.