Another aspect of our work involves the implications of nanoscience and nanotechnology and the environmental consequences of nanomaterials. In particular, we are collaborating with colleagues in Public Health (Professors O’Shaughnessy and Thorne) to better understand the potential health effects of manufactured nanomaterials should they become suspended in air. The potential effects of manufactured nanomaterial aerosol on human health will be investigated and compared to ultrafine carbonaceous particles typically found in the environment from combustion processes. This research is conducted to satisfy three main objectives.

-fully characterize a variety of manufactured nanomaterials in terms of their size, shape, bulk and surface properties;

-determine if engineered nanomaterials are particularly deleterious to health compared to particles from combustion processes that have been more extensively studied; and

-evaluate the relative health effects caused by different surface coatings on the nanoparticle.

Manufactured nanomaterials will be purchased from several sources and further characterized using a wide variety of techniques and analysis methods including surface spectroscopy so that both bulk and surfaces properties can be understood on a molecular level. These well-characterized particles will then be used for inhalation studies. There will be additional characterization once the aerosol has been generated to determine if the particles aggregate or retain the size distribution determined prior to aerosol generation. It is expected that these studies will help answer questions as to the potential impact of manufactured nanomaterial aerosol on human health as there is clearly a lack of information in this regard. Two important factors of the proposed activities are the comparison of the potential health effects of manufactured nanomaterials to other anthropogenic sources of ultrafine particles from combustion processes and the effect of surface coatings, from manufacturing and atmospheric processing, on the toxicity of these particles. Along with our colleagues in Public Health (Professors O’Shaughnessy, Peters and Heitbrink) we are also trying to identify and evaluate methods to measure airborne nanoparticle concentrations, characterize nanoparticles and determine the collection efficiency of commonly used respirator filters when challenged with nanoparticles. These studies will assist with assessment methods for nanoparticles in the workplace.