Controlled clusters could be key to safer nanoparticles

摘要

A team of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (www.nist.gov) has introduced a breakthrough method for controlling the size of engineered nanoparticle clusters. The team discovered that nanoparticles have a tendency to clump when placed in a cell culture medium. Using this technique, the researchers found a way to pause cluster growth and that the nanoparticles will remain stable long enough to study the toxicity effects of the nanoparticles on human cells [1], addressing the concern that nanoparticles will have a long-term impact on environmental health and safety (EHS) when used in medical and biological research.