[thedoc (OP)]

Ann asked the Naked Scientists:
   In the British Cardiovascular Society Conference podcast, Chris talked to a man investigating pollution who found it was the nano particles which seemed to cause the heart problems.  Other scientists are merrily looking at setting nano particles lose into human bodies to deliver drugs and who knows what else.  Are these groups talking? Are the nano particles in labs being traced to see if they are escaping? Are the lab workers having their health monitored to see if they are impacted?  We don't want to be pointing the brushes applying the radioactive paint to the watch faces with our mouths just because we never thought it mattered.
What do you think?

[exothermic]

Chris talked to a man investigating pollution who found it was the nano particles which seemed to cause the heart problems.

Nanoparticles of what caused heart problems?

[exothermic]

Are drug nanoparticles harmful in the same way that pollutants are?

Not unless they're nanoparticles of pollutants.

[smart]

Are drug nanoparticles harmful in the same way that pollutants are?

Not unless they're nanoparticles of pollutants.

Aluminium nanoparticles are genotoxic.

Toxicity of Nanoparticles and an Overview of Current Experimental Models (2016) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4689276/

In vivo genotoxicity assessment of aluminium oxide nanomaterials in rat peripheral blood cells using the comet assay and micronucleus test (2009) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19237533/

[exothermic]

Are drug nanoparticles harmful in the same way that pollutants are?

Not unless they're nanoparticles of pollutants.

Aluminium nanoparticles are genotoxic.

Then those would be nanoparticles of a potential pollutant.

But how much nanoparticulation of aluminum oxide is being utilized in pharmaceutical-manufacturing worldwide? I can't imagine this is happening on a large enough scale to be overly concerned.

[smart]

Engineered nanoparticles for environment modification (geoengineering) may have the appropriate particle size distribution to deliver a pharmacological agent to cells.

[exothermic]

Engineered nanoparticles for environment modification (geoengineering) may have the appropriate particle size distribution to deliver a pharmacological agent to cells.

We're talking about the [potential] risk of pharmaceutically-derived nanoparticles causing an environmental health hazard.

[smart]

We're talking about the [potential] risk of pharmaceutically-derived nanoparticles causing an environmental health hazard.

Just saying... Drug nanoparticles may cause a health risk if the chemical composition of the NPs are biologically active agents. 

[exothermic]

Drug nanoparticles may cause a health risk if the chemical composition of the NPs are biologically active agents.

The pharmaceutically-derived nanoparticles in question would need to meet the following criteria for them to pose an environmental health hazard:

1. They'd have to be cytotoxic.

2. They'd have to be released into the environment at large enough quantities to pose a health hazard.

[exothermic]

Chris talked to a man investigating pollution who found it was the nano particles which seemed to cause the heart problems.

Nanoparticles of what caused heart problems?

Can you possibly clarify the vague implication?

[evan_au]

Nanoparticles of what caused heart problems?

Coal fired power stations emit nanoparticles of ash into the atmosphere.

Exhaust gases from Diesel engines contain nanoparticles of carbon. I expect that these would have a fairly random mixture of carbon bonds, rather than "pure" graphite, aromatic rings, graphene, carbon fiber or buckyballs.

Atmospheric pollutants are typically measured as the number of particles larger than 10um (PM10), or larger than 2.5 um (PM2.5) which are monitored by regulatory agencies. There are suggestions that smaller soot particles around 0.1um may be even more dangerous, but these are not currently regulated.

The smaller nanoparticles can be drawn more deeply into the lungs; the smallest can apparently find their way into the bloodstream.

Gas-direct fuel injection is being introduced in many new cars, but this creates more of the unregulated fine carbon soot.

The diesel engines and coal-fired power stations which generate these particulates were not subjected to medical tests before they were allowed to operate; instead regulations were later added to require dust precipitators on new power stations. In some jurisdictions, older "dirty" power stations do not need to retrofit precipitators.

In contrast, medical nanoparticles are subjected to screening by the FDA (and similar bodies in other countries) to ensure that they improve health, before they can be sold through doctors. So I suggest that these are in quite a different category from the pollutants mentioned above.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particulates#Health_problems

[exothermic]

In contrast, medical nanoparticles are subjected to screening by the FDA (and similar bodies in other countries) to ensure that they improve health, before they can be sold through doctors. So I suggest that these are in quite a different category from the pollutants mentioned above.

Speaking of regulatory agencies that govern nanoparticulation.... I wonder about countries outside of the US & EU. I've seen a number of contaminated raw materials and/or manufactured products coming out of India & China over the years - and that's in the absence of nanoparticulation.

In contrast however, the cost of nanotechnology isn't low by any stretch of the imagination, so I'm thinking most of the key players in the industry are from the US & EU.

[chris]

The question relates to this programme from the British Cardiovascular Society meeting in Manchester:

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/naked-scientists/show/20160614-1/

In his interview, David Newby explains how he has been investigating the effects of nanoparticles from diesel engines on vascular risk.

[smart]

In his interview, David Newby explains how he has been investigating the effects of nanoparticles from diesel engines on vascular risk.

lnteresting. I did not knew diesel exhaust particulates and coal fly ash nanoparticles belonged to the same group of particulate matter.

http://particleandfibretoxicology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-8977-2-10

This review considers the molecular toxicology of combustion-derived nanoparticles (CDNP) following inhalation exposure. CDNP originate from a number of sources and in this review we consider diesel soot, welding fume, carbon black and coal fly ash. A substantial literature demonstrates that these pose a hazard to the lungs through their potential to cause oxidative stress, inflammation and cancer; they also have the potential to redistribute to other organs following pulmonary deposition. These different CDNP show considerable heterogeneity in composition and solubility, meaning that oxidative stress may originate from different components depending on the particle under consideration. Key CDNP-associated properties of large surface area and the presence of metals and organics all have the potential to produce oxidative stress. CDNP may also exert genotoxic effects, depending on their composition. CDNP and their components also have the potential to translocate to the brain and also the blood, and thereby reach other targets such as the cardiovascular system, spleen and liver. CDNP therefore can be seen as a group of particulate toxins unified by a common mechanism of injury and properties of translocation which have the potential to mediate a range of adverse effects in the lungs and other organs and warrant further research.

[evan_au]

I did not knew diesel exhaust particulates and coal fly ash nanoparticles belonged to the same group of particulate matter.

Actually, they are quite different, as the quote states: "heterogeneity"="different from each other".

Coal-fired generators take a long time to burn the hydrocarbon content of the fuel, and ensure it is thoroughly mixed with air to extract maximum energy. The fly ash comes from the minerals that are in the coal, including salts and metal-bearing organics derived from plants.

The newer fuel-injected cars actually reduce the degree of mixing with air (compared to older fuel-injection methods, and compared to coal-burning power stations), and burn the fuel very rapidly, leading to incomplete combustion of the hydrocarbons, resulting in carbon-based soot. In contrast, the petroleum refinery ensures that salts and metals do not find their way into vehicle fuel.

But they are similar in that the finest particles can find their way deepest into the lungs, where the surface area is greatest.

[smart]

I did not knew diesel exhaust particulates and coal fly ash nanoparticles belonged to the same group of particulate matter.

Actually, they are quite different, as the quote states: "heterogeneity"="different from each other".

Coal-fired generators take a long time to burn the hydrocarbon content of the fuel, and ensure it is thoroughly mixed with air to extract maximum energy. The fly ash comes from the minerals that are in the coal, including salts and metal-bearing organics derived from plants.

The newer fuel-injected cars actually reduce the degree of mixing with air (compared to older fuel-injection methods, and compared to coal-burning power stations), and burn the fuel very rapidly, leading to incomplete combustion of the hydrocarbons, resulting in carbon-based soot. In contrast, the petroleum refinery ensures that salts and metals do not find their way into vehicle fuel.

But they are similar in that the finest particles can find their way deepest into the lungs, where the surface area is greatest.

Agreed; However all combustion-derived nanoparticles (CDNPs) have genotoxic properties and cause lung inflammation through oxidative stress generation:

This paper examines the evidence for harmful effects of CDNP and puts these in the context of a unifying hypothesis based on observations that the generic ability of CDNPs to cause inflammation is via oxidative stress and activation of redox-sensitive transcription factors that can lead to the adverse health effects listed below. The ability of CDNP and their associated metals to translocate to the blood and the brain are also discussed. These unusual toxic properties unite these materials and suggest that they can usefully be seen as a group of particulate lung toxins that act through similar pathways.