Examining iENMs and their Impacts on the GI Tract and Health

As part of a collaboration to advance knowledge and methods for orally ingested engineered nanomaterials (iENMs), David Julian McClements, along with Harvard School of Public Health professors Glen DeLoid, Georgios Pyrgiotakis, Hang Xiao, and Philip Demokritou, and Vireo Advisor's Jo Anne Shatkin, have published, “The role of the food matrix and gastrointestinal tract in the assessment of biological properties of ingested engineered nanomaterials (iENMs): State of the science and knowledge gaps” in NanoImpact. These iENMs are commonly found in many foods either intentionally or unintentionally. According to McClements, et al., “there is presently a poor understanding of how ingested ENMs (iENMs) behave or interact in foods or the GI tract.” The paper reviews what is currently known about the GIT fate of iENMs and identifies gaps and future research focus on potential risks and toxicological implications is needed.