How nanoparticles flow through the environment

13-May-2016 - Carbon nanotubes remain attached to materials for years while titanium dioxide and nanozinc are rapidly washed out of cosmetics and accumulate in the ground. Researchers from the National Research Programme "Opportunities and Risks of Nanomaterials" (NRP 64) have developed a new model to track ...

No more washing: Nano-enhanced textiles clean themselves with light

New technique to grow nanostructures that degrade organic matter when exposed to light

29-Mar-2016 - A spot of sunshine is all it could take to get your washing done, thanks to pioneering nano research into self-cleaning textiles. Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, have developed a cheap and efficient new way to grow special nanostructures -- which can degrade organic matter ...

Brazilian company doubles shelf life of pasteurized fresh milk

Inclusion of silver-based microparticles in bottle plastic extends shelf life from seven to 15 days.

05-Aug-2015 - Agrindus, an agribusiness company, has increased the shelf life of grade A pasteurized fresh whole milk from seven to 15 days.This feat was achieved by incorporating silver-based microparticles with bactericidal, antimicrobial and self-sterilizing properties into the rigid plastic bottles used as ...

More dangerous chemicals in everyday life

Now experts warn against nanosilver

03-Mar-2014 - Endocrine disrupters are not the only worrying chemicals that ordinary consumers are exposed to in everyday life. Also nanoparticles of silver, found in e.g. dietary supplements, cosmetics and food packaging, now worry scientists. A new study from the University of Southern Denmark shows that ...

Barely any nanosilver from consumer products in the water

19-Apr-2013 - Nanosilver in wastewater can cause severe environmental damage if it occurs as a metal. A study conducted within the scope of the National Research Programme "Opportunities and Risks of Nanomaterials" (NRP 64) now shows that nanosilver is quickly transformed into less problematic substances on ...

Nanosilver: progress in the sphere of analysis, gaps in toxicology and exposure

BfR conference on the state of knowledge about the health risks of nanosilver

01-Mar-2012 - According to industry and trade sources, nanoscale silver is the nanomaterial most often used in products intended for consumers. However, consumers are frequently not told which products actually contain nanosilver. In Europe, nanosilver is predominantly used as an antimicrobial substance in ...

Safety of nano silver in consumer products: many questions remain open

BfR Workshop confirms incomplete data situation concerning the health risks of nanoscale silver

14-Apr-2011 - In its opinion on toxicity aspects of nano silver, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) had recommended to waive the use of nano silver in foods and articles of daily use until the data situation allows for a final assessment of the health risks. Mainly industry objected to this ...

Nanosilver: a new name – well known effects

At work against microbes for over a century

02-Feb-2011 - Nanosilver is not a new discovery by nanotechnologists – it has been used in various products for over a hundred years, as is shown by a new Empa study. The antimicrobial effects of minute silver particles, which were then known as “colloidal silver”, were known from the earliest days of its ...

Nanosilver has no place in food, textiles or cosmetics

BfR currently advises against using nanoscale silver ions in consumer products

11-Jun-2010 - The manufacturers of consumer products have made use of the antimicrobial properties of silver ions for some time now. Recently, silver particles in the nanorange have likewise been used. For instance, the surfaces in fridges coated with nanosilver are intended to inhibit the growth of germs and ...

Carbon nanoparticles toxic to adult fruit flies but benign to young

14-Aug-2009 - Carbon nanoparticles are widely used in medicine, electronics, optics, materials science and architecture, but their health and environmental impact is not fully understood. In a series of experiments, researchers at Brown University sought to determine how carbon nanoparticles would affect ...