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Carbon Nanotubes and Safety

Classification of Carbon Nanotubes, Size Effects and Potential Toxicity of the High-Aspect Ratio Nanotubes

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Trends in Nanoscale Mechanics

Abstract

This chapter reviews geometry of different classes of carbon nanotubes and examines similarities between carbon nanotubes and asbestos fibers. Geometric parameters of carbon nanotubes are characterized by the aspect ratios and other critical scaling parameters related to the inhalability of carbon nanotubes and their engulfment by macrophages in phagocytosis. Geometric and scaling parameters are used to present a conceptual framework and a parametric map for the extrapolation of potential toxic effects resulting from the inhalation of carbon nanotubes. Similarities between carbon nanotubes and asbestos fibers are also examined by using the Cook’s criteria for the asbestos-like pathologies that can be also caused by microscopic fibers. Scaling parameters for the size effects associated with carbon nanotubes and a new parametric map for the efficiency of phagocytosis are used to evaluate the potential toxicological effects of the inhaled carbon nanotubes from the point of view of the Cook’s criteria for asbestos fibers and other research.

Dr. V.M. Harik, f. ICASE Staff Scientist at the NASA Langley Research Center (Hampton, VA), Principal Scientist at Nanodesign Consulting, author of a monograph and a short course entitled “Mechanics of Carbon Nanotubes” © (2001) presented at the Annual ASME Congress (2001 & 2004) and a co-editor of Kluwer volumes: “Trends in Nanoscale Mechanics” (2003) and “Micromechanics and Nanoscale Effects” (2004).

Nanodesigns Consulting is a 2004 spin-off from the NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Its Staff consulted for the Princeton-based NASA-funded URETI Institute for Nanostructured Bio-inspired Materials (http://bimat.org), National Institute of Aerospace (Hampton, VA), University Space Research Association (USRA) and NASA NAIC (Atlanta, GA).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    R. Hurt, Which material properties/features determine the biological response to carbon nanotubes? Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, 2011.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been supported in part by the Nanotech Safety Program at Nanodesigns Consulting (http://www.nanodesignconsult.com), which encourages all researchers to allocate at least 5 % of the research funding for ensuring and improving the safety of nanotechnology in their area of research.

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  1. Nanodesigns Consulting, P.O. Box 5303, Wilmington, DE, 19808-5303, USA

    Vasyl Harik

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Correspondence to Vasyl Harik .

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  1. Nanodesigns Consulting, Wilmington, Delaware, USA

    Vasyl Harik

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Harik, V. (2014). Carbon Nanotubes and Safety. In: Harik, V. (eds) Trends in Nanoscale Mechanics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9263-9_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9263-9_8

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