Nanoparticles: What's the BIG Deal?
Nanotechnology is increasingly becoming a part of the cosmetic industry. As of 2007, nearly 400 products existed that claimed to use nanotechnology. Of those 400, 64 were cosmetic products (1). Today, over 800 products are on the market that boast the use of nanotechnology. But what exactly is nanotechnology?
It is the creation and use of particles that can range from 1 nanometer to 100 nanometers in size. These are measurements that humans can’t really comprehend (one-billionth of a meter!), but to give a better idea a nanometer is “between 50,000 and 100,000 times thinner than a human hair” (2). These are very small measurements. It is their small size, however, that makes nanoparticles so appealing for their use in cosmetics. For example, in sunscreens nanoparticles help to make the product clear once applied to the skin. Normally titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, the two main ingredients that protect against UV rays, form a thick white coating when topically applied. What companies have done to avoid this is that the titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are shrunk to a fraction of their size, which makes the sunscreen “rub in” once applied to skin (1).
If nanoparticles are just smaller versions of the particles that already exist, why are there some potential for risks? The answer is complicated, but the main reason for concern is that nanoparticles do not always behave the same way as their larger counterparts. Gold, for example, is much more reactive as a nanoparticle than the metal in larger chunks. Other manufactured nanoparticles have exhibited strange characteristics like becoming electrically charged or obtaining the ability to penetrate cell walls (2). The main fact of the matter is, we just don’t know the full effects of nanoparticles. Last year in the United States, only 1 to 4 percent of the $1.4 billion of government funding for nanotech research went in to risk assessment testing (3). Some studies have “linked them to DNA damage and unpredictable inflammatory and immune responses” (3). Unfortunately there is still not enough evidence or research being done to draw any definite conclusions from these particles. As it stands, there are not suitable structures in place to test and regulate the use of nanoparticles.
Another loophole that is cause for concern in Canada is how an “ingredient” is labelled in a cosmetic product. There are no laws that exist to make a company specify whether they are using the “nano” version of an ingredient or just the normal-sized particle. And if nanoparticles have a tendency to behave differently than their normal-sized versions, shouldn’t consumers be aware of whether such ingredients are present in their products? Cases such as this, that demonstrate industry’s favouritism of money over potential threats to human health, really highlight the hypocrisy of the “personal care” industry. Whether or not nanoparticles do prove to be dangerous, it would be better to know for a fact rather than assume they are safe.
Sources Used:
1. Mandavilli, A. (2007). Nanocosmetics: Buyer Beware. Technology Review, 110(2), pg. 84- 5.
2. Bass, C. (2009). Tiny troubles: how nanoparticles are changing everything from our sunscreen to our supplements. Earth Action Network, 20(4).
3. Allen, T.J. (2008). NanoTech: Teeny Tiny Particles, Big Risks. Mother Earth News, 228, pg. 24
