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Skin Penetration of Engineered Nanomaterials

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Book cover Nanotechnology in Dermatology

Abstract

Over the past decade, the field of nanoscience has grown tremendously because nanomaterials have widespread applications in material science, engineering, and medicine. Although this work has received a great deal of attention, many challenges must be overcome before nanotechnology can be routinely applied in nanomedicines or in consumer products. Nanomaterials are substances having a physicochemical structure on a scale greater than atomic/molecular dimensions but less than 100 nm, and exhibit physical, chemical, and/or biological characteristics associated with its nanostructure. It is these unique characteristics that made them central components in an array of emerging technologies. Many new companies have emerged to commercialize these products. However, before many of these nanomaterials can be used in biological systems, their toxicology must first be evaluated under realistic environmental, occupational, and medicinal exposure conditions. Engineered nanoparticles (NP) are used in many household products, personal care products including sunscreens and cosmetics, or as drug delivery devices and as contrast imaging agents. The focus of this chapter is to depict how skin can serve as a potential route of exposure to several types of nanomaterials, and will discuss how size, shape, charge, surface properties, and vehicles can be important determinants on the penetration through the rate-limiting lipid barrier of the stratum corneum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Physiology, CVM, 28 Coles Hall, Manhattan, KS, 66506-5604, USA

    Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere Ph.D.

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  1. Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Dermatology, UNC School of Medicine, 3100 Thurston Bowles Bldg, Chapel Hill, 27554, North Carolina, USA

    Adnan Nasir

  2. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, 10451, USA

    Adam Friedman

  3. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10065, USA

    Steven Wang

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Monteiro-Riviere, N.A. (2013). Skin Penetration of Engineered Nanomaterials. In: Nasir, A., Friedman, A., Wang, S. (eds) Nanotechnology in Dermatology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5034-4_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5034-4_6

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