NLM® Resource: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB®) Added First Set of Nanomaterial Records

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T he National Library of Medicine® (NLM) Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) has added its first set of nanomaterial records. Nanotechnology is the study of matter on an atomic and molecular scale -- structures 100 nanometers or smaller. A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter.

Like other HSDB records, the nanomaterial records are peer reviewed and contain information on toxicity, manufacturing and use, chemical and physical properties, environmental fate and exposure, and more.

There are currently seven HSDB nanomaterial records:

• Carbon nanotubes
• Fullerenes
• Silver nanoparticles
• Iron nanoparticles
• Titanium oxide nanoparticles
• Zinc oxide nanoparticles
• Cerium oxide nanoparticles

Information on hollow, spherical, or ellipsoidal carbon nanostructures is found in the Fullerenes record. The carbon nanotubes record contains information on tubular or lattice materials.

The fields of nanoparticles and nanostructures, as well as associated nomenclature, are continually evolving. Information and/or records will be added as data become available. The HSDB and nanomaterial records can be accessed at: //toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?HSDB

HSDB is a toxicology data file on the NLM Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET®). It focuses on the toxicology of potentially hazardous chemicals. It is enhanced with information on human exposure, industrial hygiene, emergency handling procedures, environmental fate, regulatory requirements, and related areas. All data are referenced and derived from a core set of books, government documents, technical reports and selected primary journal literature. HSDB is peer reviewed by the Scientific Review Panel, a committee of experts in the major subject areas within the data bank's scope. HSDB is organized into individual chemical records, and contains over 5,000 such records.

NLM® Resource: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) Added First Set of Nanomaterial Records. NLM Tech Bull. 2009 Nov-Dec;(371):e2.