Is “Small” Safe? Exploring the Good and Bad of Nanomaterials

Abstract

“Small” does not necessarily have a clear meaning… is a ball big or small? A ball might be small compared to the entire planet, but it is absolutely huge compared to tiny “nano” particles! If you look at 1 mm on a ruler, one million nanometers can fit into that millimeter. Nanomaterials—the general name for materials made from tiny particles in the nanometer range—are so small that they have properties that can be quite different from “normal” materials. Nanomaterials may have a number of helpful functions. For example, they can be useful in medicine, helping our bodies to fight infections from bacteria and viruses. Nanomaterials can also be included in some products, to make them stronger or longer lasting. However, despite their advantages, we must be cautious with nanomaterials because they can sometimes get past the barriers in the human body that protect us from foreign invaders, causing damage to cells and potentially making people sick. Let us see how their size changes where they go and what they can do.