TY - JOUR
T1 - Too small to matter? Physicochemical transformation and toxicity of engineered nTiO2, nSiO2, nZnO, carbon nanotubes, and nAg
AU - Ahamed, Ashiq
AU - Liang, Lili
AU - Lee, Ming Yang
AU - Bobacka, Johan
AU - Lisak, Grzegorz
N1 - Published on-line in 2020 but the journal issue is 2021:
Journal of Hazardous Materials 404 (2021) 124107
PY - 2020/9/28
Y1 - 2020/9/28
N2 - Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) refer to a relatively novel class of materials that are increasingly prevalent in various consumer products and industrial applications – most notably for their superlative physicochemical properties when compared with conventional materials. However, consumer products inevitably degrade over the course of their lifetime, releasing ENMs into the environment. These ENMs undergo physicochemical transformations and subsequently accumulate in the environment, possibly leading to various toxic effects. As a result, a significant number of studies have focused on identifying the possible transformations and environmental risks of ENMs, with the objective of ensuring a safe and responsible application of ENMs in consumer products. This review aims to consolidate the results from previous studies related to each stage of the pathway of ENMs from being embodied in a product to disintegration/transformation in the environment. The scope of this work was defined to include the five most prevalent ENMs based on recent projected production market data, namely: nTiO
2, nSiO
2, nZnO, carbon nanotubes, and nAg. The review focuses on: (i) models developed to estimate environmental concentrations of ENMs; (ii) the possible physicochemical transformations; (iii) cytotoxicity and genotoxicity effects specific to each ENM selected; and (iv) a discussion to identify potential gaps in the studies conducted and recommend areas where further investigation is warranted.
AB - Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) refer to a relatively novel class of materials that are increasingly prevalent in various consumer products and industrial applications – most notably for their superlative physicochemical properties when compared with conventional materials. However, consumer products inevitably degrade over the course of their lifetime, releasing ENMs into the environment. These ENMs undergo physicochemical transformations and subsequently accumulate in the environment, possibly leading to various toxic effects. As a result, a significant number of studies have focused on identifying the possible transformations and environmental risks of ENMs, with the objective of ensuring a safe and responsible application of ENMs in consumer products. This review aims to consolidate the results from previous studies related to each stage of the pathway of ENMs from being embodied in a product to disintegration/transformation in the environment. The scope of this work was defined to include the five most prevalent ENMs based on recent projected production market data, namely: nTiO
2, nSiO
2, nZnO, carbon nanotubes, and nAg. The review focuses on: (i) models developed to estimate environmental concentrations of ENMs; (ii) the possible physicochemical transformations; (iii) cytotoxicity and genotoxicity effects specific to each ENM selected; and (iv) a discussion to identify potential gaps in the studies conducted and recommend areas where further investigation is warranted.
U2 - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124107
DO - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124107
M3 - Review Article or Literature Review
SN - 0304-3894
VL - 404
JO - Journal of Hazardous Materials
JF - Journal of Hazardous Materials
M1 - 124107
ER -