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Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are all around us in nature: from nanoparticles of minerals in water to those in the air which come from fires and combustion. Most however are from human activities. Some 60% of nanoparticles in the environment are due to road transport, and a further 27% come from other combustion processes (such as power stations). It is the air-borne nanoparticles that are of most concern to human health, as it has been shown that increase in the levels of ultra-fine particulates in the air (which are less than 10 micrometre in diameter, one micrometre equals 1000 nanometres) can attribute to increased respiratory and cardiac disease, and there is increasing evidence that nanoparticles within this fraction can penetrate the lung causing inflammation and can spread to other organs within the body.

To take control of this situation we need two things: reduce or prevent combustion nanoparticle release, and provide effective monitoring in the environment.

  • reduction can be achieved through the use of nanoporous filters for combustion processes. More recently the company Oxonica has manufactured a nanoparticulate of cerium oxide which increases the efficiency of diesel engines and decreases the amount of particulates they emit.
  • monitoring can be achieved through a number of analytical methods that already exist and are being developed further by nanoscientists which measure particle size, shape, surface area and chemical reactivity (all important aspects of a nanoparticle’s activity

Nanoparticles picture
Image courtesy of Queen’s Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh
(nm = nanometre)