NTA: Nanoparticle Toxicity

At the same time as an increasing interest in, and rapid development of, a wide range of materials and products containing nanoscale structures and engineered nanoparticles, awareness has grown that the longer term potential toxic effects of such materials and their potential environmental impact are poorly understood. Existing methods have been assessed and new methods sought by which such materials could be analyzed on a routine basis during development and manufacture.

The use of Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis as a rapid and information-rich multiparameter nanoparticle characterization technique which allows the user to obtain number frequency particle size distributions of polydisperse nanoparticulate systems has resulted in its rapid adoption as an interesting new technique in a wide range of sectors within environmental and toxicity studies. This Chapter addresses some of the latest work in the literature in which NTA has been proposed, used and assessed in the study of nanoparticle toxicity and environmental impact. 

NTA has found use in a variety of investigations researching the toxicity and environmental impact of nanoparticles. As well as being used to determine the size of particles in investigations into the toxicity of carbon nanotubes and nanoparticulate metals, NTA has also been used in investigations on the interactions of nanoparticles with organisms at a cellular level and the development of methods for the testing of toxicity. NTA has proved to be a useful tool in determining both particle size and concentration of nanomaterials in wastewater analysis.