Abstract
Nanotechnology creates new possibilities to control and improve material properties for civil infrastructure. Special focus in this area is put on Portland cement and gypsum. Together their annual production is by far larger than for any other material worldwide. Nanomodification of these materials can be done during the few hours between dissolution and hardening, especially by nucleation of the re-crystallization with suitable colloids. Here we report first results in homogeneous seeding of the precipitation of calcium silicate hydrates within a real Portland cement composition. The occupational safety during the production phase and during mixing of concrete paste is addressed in detail by in vivo testing. We perform 5-day inhalation with 21-day recovery in rats and analyze organ-specific toxicity and 71 endpoints from bronchoalveolar lavage (BALF) and blood. In BALF parameters, no test-related changes were observed, indicating the generally low toxicity of the test material. Some mild lesions were observed in larynx level. In the lungs, all animals of the 50 mg/m³ concentration group revealed a minimal to mild increase in alveolar macrophages, which recovered back to control level.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Dr. Bernhard von Vacano and Dr. Gerhard Cox (BASF SE) for structural characterization.
Conflict of interest
M. Bräu is an employee of BASF Construction Chemicals GmbH; the other authors are employees of BASF SE central units.
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This article is published as a part of the Special Issue “Nanotoxicology II” on the ECETOC Satellite workshop, Dresden 2010 (Innovation through Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials + Current Aspects of Safety Assessment and Regulation).
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Bräu, M., Ma-Hock, L., Hesse, C. et al. Nanostructured calcium silicate hydrate seeds accelerate concrete hardening: a combined assessment of benefits and risks. Arch Toxicol 86, 1077–1087 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-012-0839-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-012-0839-x