Nanopathology : the health impact of nanoparticles

Enormous funds are currently being invested in nanotechnology, yet very little is known about how its products and by-products can interfere with both end users and people involved in their manufacture. Similar scenarios are already widely known in the history of science, such as the exploitation of radioactivity or the controversial issue of genetically modified organisms. As nanoparticles are more or less voluntarily produced, they are almost uncontrollably disseminated in the environment and in organisms and thus constitute a growing concern. By describing the impact of nanoparticles (and microparticles) on human and animal health, this book offers the first criteria for preventing potential problems deriving from these particles.

Author Notes

Antonietta Morena Gatti is a physicist and bioengineer, and is the founder and the director of the Laboratory of Biomaterials of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy).

Acknowledgements	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
1 How the Whole Thing Began or the Logic Path Towards a Discovery	p. 1
1.1 Introduction	p. 6
1.2 Bibliography	p. 10
2 In-vitro and in-vivo Biological Behaviour of Micro and Nanoparticles	p. 11
2.1 Introduction	p. 11
2.2 Nanoparticles and medical devices	p. 13
2.2.1 Dentistry	p. 13
2.2.2 Orthopaedics	p. 14
2.2.3 Nanostructured surfaces	p. 16
2.2.4 Drug delivery	p. 17
2.2.5 Nanomedicine	p. 19
2.3 The results of the nanopathology project	p. 22
2.3.1 In-vivo experiments	p. 28
2.4 Bibliography	p. 33
3 Clinical Cases: Lung, Blood, Liver, Kidney, Digestive System, Vessels, Sperm	p. 39
3.1 Introduction	p. 39
3.2 Lung	p. 42
3.3 Blood	p. 70
3.4 Liver	p. 80
3.5 Kidney and adrenal gland	p. 95
3.6 Digestive system	p. 102
3.7 Vessels	p. 114
3.8 Sperm	p. 115
3.9 A few considerations on reproduction	p. 121
3.10 Bibliography	p. 131
4 Six "Detective Stories"	p. 135
4.1 The 1st case	p. 135
4.2 The 2nd case	p. 142
4.3 The 3rd case	p. 145
4.4 The 4th case	p. 148
4.5 The 5th case	p. 152
4.6 The 6th case	p. 155
5 War and Nanoparticles	p. 161
5.1 Civilians living around a firing ground	p. 198
5.2 A few reflections	p. 199
5.3 Bibliography	p. 200
6 Nanoparticles in the Environment and Working Places	p. 203
6.1 Introduction	p. 203
6.2 Chimneysweeps: a historical case	p. 205
6.3 Welding metals	p. 207
6.4 Toner	p. 210
6.5 The particulate active filter or FAP	p. 212
6.6 The environment around a foundry	p. 215
6.7 The environment around a power plant	p. 220
6.8 The case of a ship	p. 227
6.9 Incinerators	p. 228
6.10 Tobacco smoke	p. 231
6.11 Bibliography	p. 237
7 Nanoparticles in Food, Cosmetics and Other Products	p. 239
7.1 Bibliography	p. 249
8 New York 9/11	p. 251
8.1 Bibliography	p. 263
9 The Future and Prevention Criteria	p. 265
9.1 The state of the art	p. 265
9.2 What is next?	p. 267
9.3 The future	p. 280
9.4 A few reflections	p. 281
9.5 Bibliography	p. 284
Appendix	p. 287
Index	p. 291

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