[Problem of safety provision of nanodimensional objects for human health]

Nanotechnologies are now considered to be a new industrial revolution. The areas of application of current nanomaterials are diverse and comprise electronics, chemical industry, building, medicine, and manufacture of foods and consumer goods. The unusual physicochemical properties of nanomaterials, which are determined by their high dispersity (particle sizes less than 100 nm in at least one dimension), may cause them to be able to penetrate across the biological barriers of the organism, to interact with biological macromolecules and cell structures, and to produce a toxic effect. Today it is recognized that studies of the potential toxic properties of nanoparticles and nanomaterials of artificial origin must be under way at a brisk pace. To determine the priorities of nanotoxicological studies, the authors have developed an algorithm that predicts a potential risk posed by nanodimensional objects to human health and the environment, by analyzing the safety of their physicochemical properties.