Sunday, 20 October 2013

Oxidative Stress and Nanotechnology

Over the past decade, nanotechnology has been a buzzword that the scientific community has embraced with great compassion. The emergence of nanotechnology has had a profound effect on almost every aspect of the twenty-first century’s daily life. It has had a revolutionary impact from stain-resistant clothing and cosmetics to environmental issues, including energy and medicine and even aerospace engineering. This volume, comprised of nine Reviews, nine new Protocols, and one Future Directions chapter, is an endeavor to present various aspects of nanotechnology from the oxidative stress point of view. The authors reflect the large participation of internationally eminent researchers, who have already distinguished themselves by making a deep impact in the fields of nanotechnology and oxidative stress. Starting from a single concept, nanotechnology has emerged as one of the fastest growing niches in this exciting field. Proponents of this avant-garde technology also describe it as one of the most prevalent engineering innovations in science and society since the Industrial Revolution.

There is an enormous disparity between the amount of funding dedicated to nanoparticle safety studies as compared to its mammoth applications in industrial and consumer products. However, there has been a sustaining interest by the scientific community in the effects of short-term and chronic exposure to nanomaterials on humans and the environment. Succinct nanoparticles are defined as submicron particles, usually <100 nm in size. Materials in this range usually produce a set of distinctive physicochemical properties. Therefore, size, chemical composition, and surface properties of nanomaterials play a crucial role in oxidative stress-induced nanotoxicity. Part I of this volume includes detailed Reviews and characterization of different types of nanomaterials, including polymeric and inorganic nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanogels, and quantum dots along with their adverse effects, particularly nanotoxicity induced by oxidative stress. It also reviews in vivo and in vitro toxic effects caused by oxidative stress as a result of exposure to nanomaterials.


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