Popular Nanoparticle Causes Toxicity in Fish, Study Shows

Popular Nanoparticle Causes Toxicity in Fish, Study Shows

www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2010) — A nanoparticle growing in popularity as a bactericidal agent has been shown to be toxic to fish, according to a Purdue University study.

Tested on fathead minnows -- an organism often used to test the effects of toxicity on aquatic life -- nanosilver suspended in solution proved toxic and even lethal to the minnows. When the nanosilver was allowed to settle, the solution became several times less toxic but still caused malformations in the minnows.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I was torn between placing this thread in "Fragile Earth" or "Medical Issues" because it pertains to both; but in the end the source date fits for Breaking Alternative News so here it is:

Materials Sciences developments are among the true 'cutting edge' technologies we humans are beginning to commercialize. However, it seems to me that we are not being very attentive to what the scientists are discovering:

Namely, that nanoparticulates are not all fun and games for biological systems... and as usual... the EPA is six steps behind.

"Silver nitrate is a lot more toxic than nanosilver, but when nanosilver was sonicated, or suspended, its toxicity increased tenfold," said Maria Sepúlveda, an assistant professor of forestry and natural resources whose findings were published in the journal Ecotoxicology. "There is reason to be concerned."

.....

"The use of nanosilver could provide a number of sanitary benefits if used properly," Turco said. "However, the indiscriminate inclusion of nanosilver into products to simply allow them to say they are antimicrobial is creating a cautionary issue."

Interestingly, the field has been very upfront about it's discoveries, but the regulatory agencies seem to approach the matter with corporate coolness.

"These nanosilver particles are so small they are able to cross the egg membranes and move into the fish embryos in less than a day," Sepúlveda said. "They had a potentially high dose of silver in them.

.....

"Silver has been used in the past as an antimicrobial agent. It's a known toxicant to microorganisms," he said. "Nanosilver is being considered by the EPA for environmental exposure profiling, much like a pesticide."

On a side not of some relevance... the host of this article lists some interestingly titled 'related' articles which add to my concern:

Easing Concerns About A Promising New Medical Imaging Agent (Aug. 20, 2007)

In a study that eases concern about the toxicity of nanoparticles being considered for use in medical imaging and biomedical research, scientists are reporting "no significant toxic effects" from ...

Earlier that year ....

Nanoparticles Can Damage DNA, Increase Cancer Risk (Apr. 18, 2007)

Earlier still ....

www.sciencedaily.com..." target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow">Researchers Probe Health And Safety Impacts Of Nanotechnology (Feb. 1, 2007)

[edit on 5-3-2010 by Maxmars]

This issue has major implications for silver 'bugs'.If it's declared a toxic substance the price will be affected negatively.If a medical advance,the price will go way up.The antimicrobial action is potentially a way to fight antibiotic resistant staph,and this is huge.

reply to post by trueforger


I can't help but wonder about all the silver nitrate we inject into the atmosphere where precipitation is desired....

Hopefully, those aren't formulated from nanoparticles....

This study should be looked at with a HUGE binocular. If you haven't noticed yet they are talking about colloidal silver. Colloidal silver is known by the educated as the strongest antibiotic in nature. The FDA and many other "health" regulation entities have been on a crusade to ban it from sight for many decades.

Colloidal silver has helped MANY people with very serious bacterial and viral diseases near miraculously. It can be made at home for pennies and this is completely against the pharmaceutical business that want you hooked on their patented useless drugs. It has been used for decades with a lot of success unlike their drugs that that need no testing because of corruption.

They have launched many campaigns against colloidal silver and a lot of them have been revealed to be pharmaceutical funded to discredit the substance.

In Europe the situation got hopeless. While the people were sleeping these crooks have secretly banned it from selling it! The world is next with the WHO regulations.

I don't know why I'm really bothering anymore.

[edit on 5-3-2010 by broli]

reply to post by broli


You are right when you point finger to pharmaceutical companies interests but there is real trouble with nanotechnologies - nobody knows what can nano pollution do. We are talking about totally unexplored land here. Fulerens, first nanoparticles, are perfect as lubricant, but its bio-degradability is near zero. Our ecosystems do not know how to decompose such (carbon!) molecules. It is completely new type of pollution. Traditional "toxicity" views have almost no relevance here. And we are not so far from self replicating nanobots - if it already doesn't exists in some military labs.

Good catch, important info. S&F

Seems none of our regulatory agencies can catch up with new technologies. ...Funny though that regulating the Internet and censoring peoples' free access to information is a higher priority than reining in nano-tech...