'Nanotubes' Could Cause Same Health Damage as Asbestos
One of the most promising materials for the future of technology, carbon nanotubes, might be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled, according to a new study published today in the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology.
The study presented in Nature Nanotechnology used an animal model developed in the 80s to study the development of mesothelioma, which can be caused by asbestos exposure. In this model, the nanotubes were injected into the abdominal cavity of mice, which is lined by the same kind of tissue as the human lung, and which is a sensitive predictor of mesothelioma. After one week, there was an inflammatory response.
"The problem of asbestos was caused when it was released into the air, if it was handled inappropriately or incorrectly. Carbon nanotubes could do the same. With this information we should assume the worst, we should think of them as asbestos. But more research might relax that point of view," said Andrew Maynard, chief science adviser to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies in Washington and one of the authors of the study.