| Stable Isotopic Tracing—A Way Forward for Nanotechnology Brian Gulson1,2 and Herbert Wong1 1Graduate School of the Environment, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; 2 Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation, Exploration and Mining, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia Abstract
Numerous publications and reports have expressed health and safety concerns about the production and use of nanoparticles, especially in areas of exposure monitoring, personal use, and environmental fate and transport. We suggest that stable isotopic tracers, which have been used widely in the earth sciences and in metabolic and other health-related studies for several decades, could be used to address many of these issues. One such example we are pursuing is the use of stable isotopes to monitor dermal absorption of zinc and titanium oxides in sunscreen preparations and other personal care products. Other potential applications of this tracing approach are discussed. Key words: isotope tracers, nanoparticles, quantum dots, sunscreen, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide. Environ Health Perspect 114:1486–1488 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.9277 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 23 June 2006]
Address correspondence to B. Gulson, Graduate School of the Environment, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109 Australia. Telephone: 61 2 9850 7983. Fax: 61 2 9850 7972. E-mail: bgulson@gse.mq.edu.au We thank Micronisers Pty Ltd. in Dandenong, Victoria, Australia, for undertaking development of the nanoparticles, and B. Jameson, N. Walker, and T. Morrison for comments on the draft manuscript. Research was funded by Macquarie University. Authors also received funding from Nanotechnology Victoria Ltd., a venture between three major Victorian universities (Monash University, Swinburne University of Technology, RMIT University) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) , that identifies key items of scientific infrastructure required to conduct nanoscience research and commercialization and assesses projects for inclusion in its major research programs. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 19 April 2006 ; accepted 22 June 2006.
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