There need be no reliance on links with university/research selleck chem Ceritinib departments.
It has been recognized in the last ca. 20 years that people’s exposure to nanoparticles (NPs)s��let them be pollutants or components in nanotechnological products��has major influence on health. NPs are, by definition, particles which measure less than 100nm in all three directions. In this size range, the surface-to-mass ratio becomes extremely high, meaning that this particle fraction (also called ultrafine dust) represents only a small mass fraction in any (environmental or occupational) dust sample but a high number of particles with a very high and reactive overall surface [1]. The small size also means that, once absorbed, NPs have extreme mobility within the (animal or human) organism and can reach all parts of it by crossing conventional barriers such as the alveolar or capillary wall.

This, and the inflammogenic nature of NPs, is strongly influenced by their surface characteristics [2].Concerning manganese (Mn), both fine and ultrafine particles containing this metal are likely generated in various phases of production and processing of Mn, from ore mining through steel casting and welding to the production of dry batteries; so that particle inhalation is a major way of��primarily occupational��exposure to this metal. The human nervous system effects of chronic Mn exposure are manifested by a state called manganism, a set of symptoms that is similar to Parkinson’ disease and appears frequently in welders inhaling metal fumes [3].

Such exposure is typically job-related (but see [4]) while the general public might experience particulate Mn inhalation due to the use of methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) as an antiknock petrol additive in some countries [5].Manganese-induced Parkinsonism was, however, also observed in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis [6] or in inadvertent overdosing due to long-term ingestion of a health supplement containing high levels of Mn, which indicates that other physicochemical forms of Mn and other routes of exposure are also relevant to the health of the CNS. For geological reasons (e.g., in Greece [7]) or due to man-made pollution (such as improper disposal of used GSK-3 dry cells in Japan [8]) abnormally high Mn levels in the drinking water were observed, together with CNS symptoms of the affected population.