Nanoparticles may increase cancer risk

Nanoparticles - currently in use in electronics, cosmetics and chemical manufacturing, among other industries - could damage DNA and lead to cancer, says a new study.

A nanoparticle is a microscopic particle - the size of one-thousandth the thickness of a single strand of human hair. Nanoparticle research is currently an area of intense scientific research, due to a wide variety of potential applications in biomedical, optical and electronic fields.

Very little is known about how they behave in the environment or how they interact with and affect humans. But research at the University of Massachusetts found that nanoparticles are small enough to penetrate cell membranes and defences and interfere with normal cell processes, reported the health portal Medical News Today.

They can be difficult to isolate from the larger environment, as they are much too small for removal by conventional filtering techniques, said scientists in their research presented at an annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research this year.

Unfortunately, only a very small portion of research on nanoparticles is focused on health and safety risks, or on threats to the environment, according to Sara Pacheco, one of the researchers.

Pacheco said: 'I am concerned because so many new nanoparticles are being developed and there is little regulation on their manufacture, use and disposal.'

'Until we understand which types of nanoparticles are harmless and which have the potential to be harmful, I think it is prudent to limit their introduction into the environment.'

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains genetic instructions for the development and functioning of living organisms.