Gold is used as a catalyst, in jewellery, electronics and many other applications. It changes its familiar golden yellow colour when it is introduced into glass as nanometre-sized particles. It then colours glass to a magnificent red shade that never fades. This technique has been known for many centuries. Nowadays, gold nanoparticles are used in many different ways: in pregnancy tests, for tumour diagnosis and therapy (e.g. breast cancer) or as a binding partner for mercury impurities in the atmosphere. Scientists are also researching nanometre-sized gold particles for electronics, e.g. as a connection between carbon nanotubes in touch screens.<\/p>\n
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<\/h4>\nFor centuries the most common way to directly get into contact with gold was and still is through wearing of gold jewellery or via tooth fillings. And it is possible that the abrasion of such gold surfaces may consist of nanoparticles. Some cultures are using gold dust or gold flakes to decorate food (e.g. the schnapps “Danziger Goldwasser”<\/em>) and in some Asian countries, edible gold is found in fruit jelly snacks or even in coffee. In Europe, textiles made from threads coated<\/span> with gold nanoparticles are currently in high demand for the fashion industry.<\/p>\n In general, gold has a high biocompatibility<\/span> and shows only little toxicity<\/span>. Given that gold jewellery has been worn by people for centuries, it is possible to conclude that human skin has a high tolerance for this metal. If gold nanoparticles are swallowed, they will almost completely be excreted from the human body. For the few cases with a negative reaction to gold, the effects could be attributed to a particular coating material (CTAB = cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide<\/em>). The size of the gold nanoparticles plays a big role when looking at possible effects on humans since nanoparticles smaller than 5 nanometers can cause potential adverse health effects. In the meanwhile, experimental studies could confirm that even specifically coated gold nanoparticles were not able to cross the placental barrier.<\/p>\n The long history of mankind with precious metals such as gold has shown that humans have always had regular contact with this material and will still do so in the future. Overall, gold nanoparticles are considered to have a low biological impact.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gold is used as a catalyst, in jewellery, electronics and many other applications. It changes its familiar golden yellow colour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","usage":[],"absorption":[],"exposition":[],"effect":[],"class_list":["post-11490","element","type-element","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs there any risk from this material to humans and the environment?<\/h4>\n
Conclusion<\/h4>\n