Nanotechnology Risk Assessment

Overview of Standards Related to the Occupational Risk and Safety of Nanotechnologies

“…Nanotechnology has been promoted as the "next big thing" that will transform everyday life through the creation of numerous new products and enhanced materials for improved quality of life [1].…”

Composite Materials Based on (Cymene)Ru(II) Curcumin Additives Loaded on Porous Carbon Adsorbents from Agricultural Residues Display Efficient Antibacterial Activity

“…15 Moreover, the use of nanoparticles has been also pointed out as a source of pollution with potential health risks, with consequences that today are mostly unexplored. 16,17 Carbon materials are nontoxic compounds, in fact they are traditionally used in poisoning treatments. Thus, bacteria can grow on their surface and can even be used for the development of biofilters in water or air treatments.…”

“…The pore size distribution and the nature of the chemical species on surface can be easily modified by different activation or functionalization treatments to improve adsorption ability and consequently filter performance. , Carbon filters are normally used for environmental purposes, with the goal to eliminate pollutants from air or water streams by adsorption processes. − They are also used as supports of active metal phases to develop catalytic systems able to transform them into nontoxic compounds or as bacteria supports in biofilters. , In addition, there are some specific applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries, such as in air conditioning equipment especially for hospitals, operating rooms (ORs) etc., where the quality of treated air requires not only the removal of possible pollutants, but also the abatement of airborne bacteria in the treated air flow or of those bacteria that can grow on the filter, favored by the highly humid environment. − Many studies on the design and production of antibacterial materials are based on silver or ZnO nanoparticles. − However, silver nanoparticles can be ineffective, depending on the nature of bacteria and experimental conditions . Moreover, the use of nanoparticles has been also pointed out as a source of pollution with potential health risks, with consequences that today are mostly unexplored. , Carbon materials are nontoxic compounds, in fact they are traditionally used in poisoning treatments. Thus, bacteria can grow on their surface and can even be used for the development of biofilters in water or air treatments. , As many small metal complexes are known to display antimicrobial activity, , and based on a long-standing interest of some of us in the design and synthesis of metal complexes with antibacterial activity, − it seemed interesting to develop alternative composite materials with antibacterial behavior based on a synergistic effect of carbon materials and antibacterial metal complexes.…”