Environmental Impact of Nanoparticles’ Application as an Emerging Technology: A Review

Abstract

The unique properties that nanoparticles exhibit, due to their small size, are the principal reason for their numerous applications, but at the same time, this might be a massive menace to the environment. The number of studies that assess the possible ecotoxicity of nanomaterials has been increasing over the last decade to determine if, despite the positive aspects, they should be considered a potential health risk. To evaluate their potential toxicity, models are used in all types of organisms, from unicellular bacteria to complex animal species. In order to better understand the environmental consequences of nanotechnology, this literature review aims to describe and classify nanoparticles, evaluating their life cycle, their environmental releasing capacity and the type of impact, particularly on living beings, highlighting the need to develop more severe and detailed legislation. Due to their diversity, nanoparticles will be discussed in generic terms focusing on the impact of a great variety of them, highlighting the most interesting ones for the industry.

Influence of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Human Health and the Environment

“…Due to the widespread use of TiO 2 , exposure to NPs by ingestion, inhalation, or sorption has become virtually inevitable. In the last five years, reviews have been published on the effects of TiO 2 NPs in living organisms, focusing either on the toxicology of TiO 2 NPs [ 1 , 2 , 11 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ], safety concerns in various applications [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ] and related impact on human health [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], or their effects on water/soil/environmental quality [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Such review studies are necessary to conclusively determine the environmental and human effects of TiO 2 NPs.…”

Effects of humic substances on the aqueous stability of cerium dioxide nanoparticles and their toxicity to aquatic organisms

“…The prospects of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) of different sizes, shapes, and material properties in a number of applications have progressed rapidly (Guinée et al, 2017;Martínez et al, 2020), although the market benefits brought about by ENPs have also created some concerns of their possible effects on human health and environmental safety (Savolainen et al, 2013;Baun et al, 2017;Deng et al, 2017). Many studies emphasized the challenging relationship between typical ENPs features such as shape, size, modifications and the abiotic factors of the environment such as pH, divalent cation ions, dissolved organic carbon (Lu et al, 2017;Liu et al, 2018;Yu et al, 2018;Singh et al, 2021).…”

Advances in Drug Delivery Nanosystems Using Graphene-Based Materials and Carbon Nanotubes

“…Currently, nanoforms made from non-toxic biodegradable materials are preferred; however, in the case of nanoformulations for cancer therapy or diagnosis, inorganic carriers such as NPs of metals, metal oxides, metalloids and carbon are also used, which often potentiate the effect of the API itself [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. It is important to mention that drugs in the nanoform acquire unique physicochemical properties and in particular their bioavailability after oral administration is modified, thanks to improved permeability through membranes [6,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. In addition, drug delivery nanosystems (nanoDDSs) make it easy to achieve a targeted distribution, whether it is a passive distribution based on the particle size of the NPs or the so-called EPR (Enhanced Permeability and Retention factor) effect, active distribution, i.e., by modifying the NP surface with an antibody, ligand, etc., or in the case of magnetic NPs by an external magnetic field.…”