Speaker Abstract: S-27
Environmental Impacts of Engineered Nanomaterials
Vicki Colvin, Ph.D., Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology, Rice University
Traditionally, nanotechnology has been motivated by the growing importance of very small (d < 50nm) computational and optical elements in diverse technologies. However, this length scale is also an important and powerful one for living systems. At Rice, we believe that the interface between the 'dry' side of inorganic nanostructures and the 'wet' side of biology offers enormous opportunities for medicine, environmental technologies, as well as entirely new types of nanomaterials. As part of our work on the potential biological applications, we also consider the unintended environmental implications of water soluble nanomaterials. Given the breadth of nanomaterial systems, we use a carefully selected group of model nanoparticles in our studies and focus on natural processes that occur in aqueous systems. We characterize the size and surface-dependent transport, fate and facilitated contaminant transport of these engineered nanomaterials. Models from larger colloidal particles can be extended into the nanometer size regime in some cases, while in others entirely new phenomena present themselves. We also consider biological interactions of nanoparticles and specifically address the interactions of a classic nanomaterial, C60, with cellular systems.
2004 FDA Science Forum | FDA Chapter, Sigma Xi | CFSAN | FDA
Last updated on 2004-MAY-28 by frf