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The number of consumer products that use nano-materials has more than doubled over the last few years. Nanotechnology applications include clothing, cosmetics, bedding, jewelry, sporting goods, nutritional supplements and personal care items. For a list of these goods, visit www.nanotechproject.org/consumerproducts. In your everyday household products, you are likely to find the nanomaterial, nanoscale silver or carbon nanotubes. By 2014, Lux Research estimates 15% of the total global consumer goods output will contain some sort of nanotechnology. According to polls, most Americans know very little about nanotechnology, so much more nanotechnology research must be accomplished to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of such new advances.

One study conducted by the Tokyo University of Science in Japan discovered that maternal exposure to the nanoparticle “titanium dioxide” affects the expression of hundreds of genes related to the central nervous system in fetal mice. “Nanotechnology and the production of novel man-made nano-particles are increasing worldwide. Titanium dioxide in its nanoparticle form has a high level of photocatalytic activity, and can be used for air and water purification and self-cleaning surfaces. Our findings, however, add to the current concern that this specific nanomaterial may have the potential to affect human health,” reports study leader Ken Takeda. He adds that, compared to control mice, the changes discovered within the genes “include those we normally consider to develop in childhood, such as autistic disorder, epilepsy and learning disorders, and also others that arise mainly in adulthood or old age, such as Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease.” Current nanotechnology research regarding TiO2 is being examined for self-cleaning surfaces, coatings, sun-blocks and paints.

So what does the Food and Drug Administration say about nanotechnology applications? “In light of this fast-rising commercialization, the FDA needs to make certain that it has the tools, resources and information necessary to ensure the safety of novel products before they enter the market, and to detect and move swiftly to correct any problems that may arise,” says David Rejeski, director of nanotechnology research for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN). “Given the agency’s insufficient resources, which for two decades have not kept pace with inflation, making sure that the FDA has the capacity to safely manage nanotechnology must be the shared responsibility of Congress and our political leaders. The agency must be ‘nano-ready’ for the products on the market today and able to deal with the more advanced nanotechnology applications expected in the next 5-10 years.”

In a report released this past August, David Rand, Robert Hurt and colleagues noted that exposure to large amounts of nano-particles had adverse effects on adult fruit flies. During the nanotechnology research experiment, flies injected with the contaminants transferred nano-materials to other adult flies, causing incapacitation or death. However, fly larvae and flies that simply ate nano-particles showed no such reactions. Scientists say that many more tests must be done to examine the relationship between transmission of nano-particles and long-term effects of these materials.

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