Danger Dust

The project focused on workers without pre-existing skin abnormalities, genetic skin diseases, or a family history of skin disorders. Although it was not a criterion of selection for us, many of them claimed to have developed skin lesions gradually during their employment.

Workers who had prolonged exposure to silver and silica nanoparticles and developed skin lesions had higher genes expression of inflammatory cytokines compared with normal subjects who had no exposure to silver and silica nanoparticles. The genes expression of inflammatory cytokines continuously increased with the length of exposure, suggesting the role of chronic exposure to silver and silica nanoparticles in immune dysregulation.

Necessary measures must be considered to protect workers in nanoparticle industries against the detrimental effects of these nanoparticles. A network pharmacology study has presented suggestions for corresponding biochemical pathways for these disorders.