Communication
Nanoparticles from the Cosmetics and Medical Industries in
Legal and Environmental Aspects
Renata Włodarczyk * and Anna Kwarciak-Kozłowska
Citation: Włodarczyk, R.;
Kwarciak-Kozłowska, A.
Nanoparticles from the Cosmetics
and Medical Industries in Legal and
Environmental Aspects. Sustainability
2021, 13, 5805. https://doi.org/
10.3390/su13115805
Academic Editor: João Carlos de
Oliveira Matias
Received: 9 April 2021
Accepted: 17 May 2021
Published: 21 May 2021
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Faculty of Infrastructure and Environment, Czestochowa University of Technology, Dabrowskiego 69,
42-201 Czestochowa, Poland; anna.kwarciak@pcz.pl
* Correspondence: renata.wlodarczyk@pcz.pl
Abstract:
This paper presents the application and role of nanomaterials, with particular emphasis
on the cosmetics and medical industries. Methods of obtaining materials at the nanoscale and
their characteristic structure, which determines their attractiveness and risk, especially in recent
years, have been described. The subject of the work was to indicate the hazards and risks that are
associated with the properties of nanomaterials; dimension, and high chemical and physical activity,
thus making ways to capture and monitor them difficult. Legal and environmental aspects were
taken into account, and the involvement of the European Commission in this subject and the activities
carried out in a few European countries as well as in Japan, the USA and Canada were analyzed.
Keywords: nanoparticles; nanomaterials; toxicity; ecotoxicity; safety; health
1. Application and Role of Nanoparticles in Cosmetology and Medicine
In October 2011, the European Union defined nanoparticles (NPs) as natural or artifi-
cially produced materials containing particles in unbound state or as aggregates (agglom-
erates) in which 50% or more of them occur in the size range from 1 nm to 100 nm [
1
–
3
].
Natural nanoparticles appear in the environment as a result of erosion, decomposition or
oxidation of organic matter or minerals. A significant number of nanoparticles are released
during forest fires or volcanic eruptions [
4
]. In the case of man-made nanoparticles, we are
talking about those created unintentionally in various processes, including as by-products
of combustion, mainly of diesel or wood (ultrafine fractions), welding, smelting or solder-
ing, and similar products with intended properties, shape, size, called engineered inorganic
nanoparticles (EINP) [
5
]. All known nanoparticles can be divided into two groups: organic
nanoparticles (e.g., fullerenes and carbon nanotubes) and inorganic nanoparticles, which
include metals (Ag, Au, Cu, Pa, Pt), metal oxides (TiO
2
, ZnO, Fe
2
O
3
, CuO, Fe
3
O
4
), quantum
dots (CgSe, CdTe) and sea salt [
4
,
6
–
8
]. Metallic nanoparticles are usually synthesized in
two ways:
•
the “top-down” method—in which the size of large structures is reduced to a nanome-
ter scale by reducing the size (grinding) of materials to nanoparticles (products of the
first generation);
•
the “bottom-up” method—by building new structures based on nanoparticles, ag-
gregation of molecules dissolved in the liquid or gas phase (second generation prod-
ucts) [9,10].
Among the “top-down” methods, the main role is played by physical processes (in-
cluding mechanical/ball milling, thermal/laser ablation, sputtering, electro-explosion) as
well as chemical etching. The “bottom-up” approach to nanoparticle synthesis involves
chemical and biological methods. However, physical and chemical methods for the synthe-
sis of nanoparticles are harmful to the environment, due to the use of high temperature,
pressure, and hazardous chemicals. In addition, chemically synthesized nanoparticles
can only be used in biomedical applications due to their smaller biocompatibility and
Sustainability 2021, 13, 5805. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115805 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
