ABSTRACT
New technologies offer significant benefits to humans, but they also possess multiple risks to human and environmental health. Nanotechnology has seen exponential growth in the last decade due to its unique physicochemical properties (Kingsley et al. 2013). However, the risk associated with this emerging technology is also due to the small size and large surface area of nanoparticles (NPs), which allow easy dispersion, but might cross anatomical barriers and show potential toxicity. NPs could enter the food chain via nutrients, pesticides, environmental pollutants, or through processed foods (Rico et al. 2011), raising concerns of toxicity in the ecosystem. Therefore,
Contents 17.1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 317
17.1.1 Exposure to nanomaterials ......................................................... 318 17.1.2 Risk assessment ...........................................................................321 17.1.3 Usage of nanomaterials in food ..................................................322
17.2 Characterization of nanomaterials for toxicological evaluation ...........323 17.2.1 Characterization of nanomaterials in biological matrices .........323 17.2.2 Measurement of nanomaterials in food and other biological
