May

26

Carbon nanotube is cancerous!!

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The next time you touch carbon nanotube, beware!! Recent scientific studies showed that carbon nanotube can be cancerous!! Carbon nanotube has generated a lot of hype in recent years. For example last year, UC Berkeley scientists have demonstrated the world’s smallest raido using single carbon nanotubes.

A group of scientists led by Professor Kenneth Donaldson at the University of Edinburgh in the UK has carried out an experiment on the effect of prolonged carbon nanotube exposure on mice. These mice showed inflammatory response after long exposure to carbon nanotubes, indicating a sign of mesothelioma which is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos (Ref). The scientists found out that carbon nanotubes could release asbestos into the air if it was handled inappropriately or incorrectly (Ref).

The result was also confirmed by another group led by Jun Kanno and Akihiko Hirose of Japan’s National Institute of Health Sciences. They observed the formation of cancerous lesions consistent with mesothelioma when they injected Multi-walled carbon nanotubes into the abdominal cavity of mice that were genetically predisposed to develop cancer quickly (Ref).

How ironic is this world. We are blessed with the 21st century most wonderful material - carbon nanotube, yet we have to be extremely carefully when dealing with it.

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One Response to “Carbon nanotube is cancerous!!”

  1. nanotube use on May 30th, 2008 10:46 pm

    [...] lot of hype in recent years. For example last year, UC Berkeley scientists have demonstrated the worhttp://sikod.com/blog/2008/05/26/carbon-nanotube-is-cancerous/They are stronger than steel, but the most important uses for …File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - [...]

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