Nanotoxicology - an in vitro approach

Nanotechnology is a technology that enables making and adjusting materials on a scale of one millionth millimetre. On this scale materials get other attributes that can be favourable, such as a more focused administration of a medicine to the target organ. However, it is not known if there are risks attached to nanomaterials. Because of the large variety of nanomaterials it is not achievable to test each nanomaterial separately for possible risks. This dissertation presents methods that could – after further development - make the risk assessment of nanomaterials more efficient, such as the use of tests with cells instead of test animals, and the use of safety data of one nanomaterial for another nanomaterial.