This century has witnessed innovative scientific advancements in the domain of Nanoscience and technology. It has the potential to grow and transform the global production levels with the ability to elevate performance, efficiency, quality and safety of the product. Nanotechnology has been reported as the new Industrial Revolution, which has the potential to leave an unprecedented impact on the food, pharmaceutical, chemical, medical, agriculture, cosmetics, construction and even the electronics sector. The Chemical Industry and Nanotechnology go hand-in-hand, as fundamentally many chemical principles and their interactions underlie the phenomena and mechanisms of Nanotechnology. With increasing advancements in science, it is now possible to manipulate materials on the atomic and molecular scale to produce objects which have a diameter of a few nanometers. This manipulation results in materials with unique physical, optical and chemical properties. This manipulation process is called Nanotechnology and the materials are called the Nanomaterials. It was Richard Feymann, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, who introduced the world to Nanotechnology in 1959.
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| Figure 1: Applications of Nanotechnology |
- The Current Scenario:
A wide range of functional nanoparticles are produced by the chemical industry. Nanoparticles are found in wide range of products from paints, cosmetics, additives in automobiles to various household formulations. Various types of industry fall under the category of chemical industry like food, textile, oil and gas industry, etc. Many polymer materials that are produced in a chemical industry fall under the realm of Nanotechnology. Although, commercialization of nanotechnology is in its rudimentary stage, here are some industries that have commercialized nanotechnology-created consumer products.
In the food industry, Canola Active Oil (Shemen Industries, Tel Aviv, Israel), a tea called Nanotea (Qin- huangdao Taiji Ring Nano-Products Co., Ltd., Hebei, China) and a chocolate diet shake called Nanoceuticals Slim Shake Chocolate (RBC Life Sciences Inc., Irving, TX, USA) are amongst the products produced using Nanotechnology. The canola oil contains an additive called ‘nanodrops’ designed to carry vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals through the digestive system. Companies like DuPont have created well-known polymers- Kevlar and Teflon, using nanomaterials. Carbon Nanotechnologies (Houston, Texas) and Sumitomo (Tokyo, Japan) are two companies that are currently producing carbon fullerenes and CNTs on a mass scale. Quantum Dot Corp. (Hayward, CA) and Evident Technologies (New York, NY) are both manufacturing quantum dots with various conjugates and colors. Nanosphere (Chicago, IL) and Genicon Sciences (San Diego, CA) are producing colloidal gold and silver nanoparticles. Cosmeceuticals, including liposomes, are produced by Procter & Gamble (Cincinnati, OH) and LˇOre ́al (New York, NY). The other companies working in this area are NanoMed Pharmaceuticals (Kalamazoo, MI) and Skyepharma (London, UK).
According to the reports published by Next Move Strategy Consulting, the Global Nanotechnology Market size was valued at USD 1.15 billion in 2019 and is predicted to reach USD 3.31 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 10.1% from 2020-2030. Europe, the US and East Asia are leading in the segment of nanotechnology. Within 10 or 15 years, it is expected that the industrial production of nanotechnology will be worth over $1 trillion.
Figure 2: Market share of Nanotechnology in various industries
- NanoSafety:
Recent studies indicate that the key factor leading to adverse effects in humans and animals is the particle size. Researches till date have reported that the catalytic effects and explosion hazards that nanomaterials pose. The electrons in the nanomaterials are confined in one-direction, that lead to discrete energy states. This results in the unusual properties observed at nanoscale. However, more research needs to be carried out in order to predict the the hazards associated with the use of nanomaterials. Due to these atypical properties, nanomaterials present a higher risk of explosion as compared to the coarser materials of the same chemical composition. When the particle size of the combustible material is reduced to the nano regime, chances of spontaneous combustion increases and also results in higher combustion rates. Especially in the case of nano-sized metals, some explode very quickly which creates potential and hidden dangers. Some materials depending on their structures and chemical compositions, may even initiate catalytic reactions.
While handling nanomaterials, even an accidental intake of nanoparticles can lead to many known and unknown diseases. Since the present study data is insufficient to predict the hazardous nature, protective measures needs to be taken while handling nanomaterials. Since the research on safety is in its preliminary stages, there are no International Standards set on what kind of protective measure needs to taken for safe handling. Measures to control the airborne nanoscale aerosol exposure can be accomplished by the following:
- Evaluate the kind of hazard a material would pose by evaluating the physical & chemical properties, toxicology and health-related data.
- The nanoparticles should be handled in fume hoods or in a closed environment.
- Install exhaust ventilation
- Evaluate the sources of errors in handling and transporting nanomaterials.
- Provide appropriate personal protection equipment
- Train workers to use nanomaterials properly.
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| Figure 3: Nanosafety |
Very informative post!
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