UK expert raises toxicology in nanotech debate:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
A UK scientist is calling for the development of nanotoxicology as a new research discipline to better harness the "huge advantages" of nanotechnology by also addressing its potential health hazards. Ken Donaldson, lung toxicology expert and professor of respiratory medicine at Edinburgh University, believes that guidelines for testing all nanoscale materials that might affect human health should be established. "A focus on the potential harmful effects of nanoparticles is both timely and necessary. The importance of nanotechnology to the economy and to our future wellbeing is beyond debate, but its potential adverse impacts need to be studied," says Professor Donaldson in the September edition of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.