Engineered nanomaterials and human exposure: An overview

Abstract

Nanosilver is the most well-known name in the broad family of nanomaterials. These nanoparticles are found across a huge range of commodities, particularly cosmetics and food packaging. It is also well-known in the realm of medicine. New nanomaterials are typically employed in medicine, and they are often combined with other traditional medications such as cytostatic agents or antibiotics. However, in some situations, these enormous nanotechnology goods have come into contact with humans unwittingly. These ultrafine materials reach the human body via cutaneous, inhalation, and ocular pathways. That is why people should be exposed to nanomaterials. And that exposure is professional, consumer, and environmental in nature throughout its full life cycle, usage, and disposal. Unfortunately, there are currently hardly any workplace exposure limits available for engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), and the mechanism of impact of ENMs is not well understood also. As a result, there is a need to develop a system that can test all of the major features of ENMs that trigger biological responses in humans. For the comparison of nanoparticle behaviour, new types of exposure models may be required, which can track one particle individually, its shape, surface area, and other surface features such as nanomaterial conversion or the ability to become reactive, and so on. Life cycle assessment can be used to build conceptual models of exposure to engineered nanomaterials. It's critical to keep precise records of ENM floating in the air and assess its true nature. And it necessitates a large number of parameters as well as a variety of ENM materials that are so far on the market, as well as the concept of its (ENM) ability to participate in any biological process.