Potential Hazards of Nanoparticles

Abstract

Demand for more advanced technologies and innovations in useful materials and tools for the study of life are based on two technologies, namely biotechnology and nanotechnology. Biotechnology and nanotechnology are two of the twenty-first century’s most promising technologies. Nanotechnology is established on the design, development and application of materials and devices possessing at least one dimension sized in a nanometer scale (Assa et al. 2016). As compared to the materials in their bulk form, nanomaterials have novel physical, chemical, mechanical, optical and biological properties due to their large surface to volume ratio, which is the key factor for the unique properties of the nanoparticles and nanomaterials (Haroon and Ghazanfar 2016; de Morais et al. 2014). This increases potential applications of the nanomaterials in the wide ranges of industries and products. On the other hand, biotechnology deals with metabolic and other physiological processes of biological subjects including living cells, microorganisms and enzymes. In fact, biotechnology uses the knowledge and techniques of biology to manipulate molecular, genetic and cellular processes to develop products and services that are used in diverse fields from medicine to agriculture. Nanobiotechnology integrates the design of new materials and devices with the exquisite specificity of biological molecules, enzymes and cells to solve critical problems in biology. In fact, nanobiotechnology is the combination of engineering and molecular biology (Raju 2016; Shoseyov and Levy 2008). In this chapter, the terms of biotechnology, nanotechnology and nanobiotechnology are defined. Furthermore, their importance and applications, especially in food areas, are presented.