HOW ARE SAFETY TESTS CARRIED OUT IN NANO TECH?

To evaluate the harm associated with substances, a variety of toxicity tests are employed. The regulations regulating the material and how it will be utilised will determine which ones are employed. For example, toxicity testing for a new medicine are far more extensive than those for a new cosmetic. Cell cultures — in vitro testing – are used in several of them. By exploring the chemical composition of a material, some of them can offer an indicator of hazard without using cells. In other situations, computer models are employed to determine the potential toxicity of a novel drug.

Most toxicologists believe, however, that most of these experiments can only go so far in predicting how a novel chemical would affect humans, and that in vivo testing will be required at some time. There are movements across the globe – and rightfully so – to reduce animal experimentation and, when feasible, find alternatives. Unfortunately, when it comes to brand new materials, such as engineered nanomaterials, modelling and cell cultures are insufficient to anticipate how these materials would behave in a real body.

This issue is exacerbated by the fact that several known toxicity tests designed for chemicals do not function well with nanomaterials. So toxicologists are faced with a dilemma: should they depend on non-animal testing that may not be appropriate, risking allowing dangerous items onto the market, or do they test these things on animals to reduce the odds of anything awful happening? It's a difficult question to answer. But, in the end, most persons involved in ensuring that new products do not hurt people will use the most comprehensive set of tests available to give them with the most accurate information on product safety.