Nanoparticles: future technology with risks
Nanoparticles help improve varnishes and cosmetic products. But in the long term they could be harmful to people and the environment. Miltiades Schmidt has plunged into the tiny nanoworld.
Nanotechnology has changed the functional perspective of materials used in medicine, offering them better functionality mainly due to their nanometric size polymer chips. An example is silver nanoparticles that exhibit different properties once applied to biological systems, compared to traditional treatment systems.
The nanometric size gives them the ability to penetrate different biological membranes such as the bacterial wall, increasing their bactericidal effect. This review addresses in a general way the processes used to obtain silver nanoparticles as an example of the technology used in the design of these vehicles.
The quality parameters applied to protect its functionality and an explanation of its antibacterial action mechanism in view of an effective therapeutic evaluation and as a benchmark of the impact of the development of materials through nanotechnology.