NANOTECHNOLOGY: A new concern~~

A lot has been talked about this Nanotechnology and most of them are yet to be brought into reality; some even to be proved in theory itself.
More features are being proposed in this domain and it seems that in the near future things will turn out to be like the ones we see in fictions and cartoons!
Nanotechnology is a world in itself; it has a lot of facts and myths surrounding it.
Through this post, I bring out certain facts and dispel some myths using the information which I've managed to collect through some authentic sources on this topic.I hope there are a lot of awareness about Nanotechnology these days and so it doesn't require an introduction.

Now,coming to the point, a recent research conducted by scientists were published in the journal,NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY.The research warns about the nature of Carbon Nanotubes, of which some were hazardous like the ASBESTOS sheets if they are inhaled or intaken in considerable quantities.Now,that's bad, right?

Well, what actually is this CARBON NANOTUBE? Single walled Carbon Nanotubes
They are precisely an allotropic form of Carbon
which has the precision to the Nano scale which
makes it an important tool in almost all the
Nanotechnology.In short, it is the backbone of the
Nanotechnology itself.The interesting thing is
that these tubes are as light as plastic but also
strong as the steel.There are single-walled and
multi-walled nanotubes.These Nanotubes are
suitably manipulated to provide efficient batteries, Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube
life-saving batteries, many electric and electronic
equipments and many more.The problem is that
these Nanotubes now are said to possess the
properties of Asbestos.The asbestos sheets are
one of the occupational health hazards in the whole
world. The exposure to the asbestos can also cause
Mesothelioma, a cancer.



Carbon Nanotubes (multi-walled):

A research was conducted by the scientists led by Professor
Kenneth Donaldson at the University of Edinburgh,U.K.
Several long and short Carbon nanotubes and asbestos
fibres were injected into the abdominal cavity of Mice
and the results were observed.The Carbon Nanotudes possesed the properties of the asbestos fibres. They both caused some
pathological symptoms which were supposed to be precursors of Mesothelioma.Asbestos fibres are very thin, and so they have the
capacity to penetrate deep into the lungs but they are too long to penetrate deep into the lung's protective and sensitive mechanism to remove the foreign particles entering. But, Donaldson still has a
lot of questions which are yet to be cleared : "We still dont know,
whether the carbon nanotubes are air-borne and inhaled, or whether, if they do reach the lungs, they can work to the outer sensitive lining.But if they do get in there in sufficient quantities, there are chances that people will get cancer-perhaps decades after breathing the stuff". Also they researched only about the fibre-like behaviour and did not account for the other aspects that might damage the lungs. He added that more research is needed if need to understand to use them safely.Statistical data reveals that the sale of Carbon Nanotubes may reach even upto $2 billion annually within the next 4 to 7 years, according to an article published by Chemical Engineering & News(U.S. Publication).

Obviously, this has raised concerns about the safety of Nanomaterials because now itself, several products which are manufactured using 'Nano techniques' are available in the market.Anthony Seaton, one of the co-authors, reminded that cancer caused by Asbestos was reported in 1960s and 1970s which later decreased due to restricted usage before 25 years. Donaldson also adds that Short and curly Carbon Nanotubes do not behave like asbestos fibres and by studying the properties of the long, thin Carbon Nanotubes, these hazards can avoided.Despite all these threats, the professor says"It’s a good news story, not a bad one. It shows that carbon nanotubes and their products could be made to be safe."Indeed! “This is a wakeup call for nanotechnology in general and carbon nanotubes in particular,” says Dr. Andrew Maynard, another co-author. “As a society, we cannot afford not to exploit this incredible material, but neither can we afford to get it wrong—as we did with asbestos.” Let's hope that we will get a solution to this and put Nanotechnology to good and safe use for the betterment of man-kind.

Source: http://www.nanotechproject.org/
posted for educational purpose only.
Thanks to http://www.nanotechproject.org/
A PDF of the paper can be found on the journal’s website: www.nature.com/nnano