Health and Environmental Impact of Nanotechnology: Toxicological Assessment of Manufactured Nanoparticles

The microtechnology of the second half of the 20th century has produced a technical revolution that has lead to the production of computers, the Internet and taken us into a new emerging era of nanotechnology. This issue of Toxicological Sciences includes two articles, "Pulmonary Toxicity of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes in Mice 7 and 90 Days after Intratracheal Instillation" by Chiu-Wing Lam, John T. James, Richard McCluskey, and Robert L. Hunter (pp. - ) and "Comparative Pulmonary Toxicity Assessment of Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes in Rats" by D.B. Warheit, B.R. Laurence, K.L. Reed, D.H. Roach, G.A.M. Reynolds, and T.R. Webb (pp. - ), related to a newly emerging area in toxicology. The studies by Lam et al. and Warheit et al. represent the first peer-reviewed comparative toxicological assessments of a specific type of manufactured nanoparticle called single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). This highlight provides a brief overview of the emerging issue of manufactured nanoparticle risk assessment, highlights the results and contributions to this area by these companion articles, and places their contributions into perspective regarding the emerging issue of manufactured nanomaterial toxicology.