The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) posted a blog item on September 10, 2024, entitled “NTRC Marks 20 Years of Studying Nanotoxicology: Highlights from the Toxicology and Internal Dose Team” that reviews the Nanotechnology Research Center’s (NTRC) achievements in the field of nanotechnology. The blog item highlights where NTRC started, where it is now, NTRC’s partnerships, and its work modeling workplace exposure to assess toxicity. According to the blog item, the major priorities in the toxicology research at NIOSH include:
- Assessing acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) toxicity from different exposure routes, focusing on inhalation and skin contact;
- Mapping how nanomaterials spread through the body and affect specific organs;
- Uncovering the mechanisms by which exposure causes disease;
- Identifying which material properties (such as size, shape, and chemistry) contribute most to toxicity;
- Creating biomarkers (measurable indicators in the body) to detect exposure and related health effects;
- Developing alternative models that predict toxicity in vivo (in living organisms); and
- Building predictive toxicity models using bioinformatics (analyzing biological data) and computational approaches (simulating biological systems with computer algorithms).
Looking forward, the blog item notes that “NTRC’s toxicology research evolves as information emerges about advanced materials, their lifecycle, and processes using them.” NTRC is expanding its focus to study a broader range of advanced materials, including unique materials such as engineered nanoparticles and products from advanced material science, designed for specific physical and chemical functions. As NTRC moves forward, its overall goal is still to “conduct research that provides the necessary knowledge for understanding workplace hazards and risks.”
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