Nanotechnology could be used for anti-allergic therapy

A solution for food allergy sufferers could emerge through nanotechnology the science that takes advantage of the very different behaviour of particles at microscopically small size.
Stephen Holgate, clinical professor of immunopharmacology at the University of Southampton, said nanomaterials were starting to be used in medicine to help trick the immunological systems of those with allergies to stop allergic reactions.
"Nanomaterials are being used to enhance immunological responses in the medical world," Holgate announced. He was speaking at the launch of a new report, Nanotechnologies and Food, last month by The House of Lords' Science and Technology Committee, on which he is a member.
"They are able to trick the immune system, if they are absorbed on their own, to actually divert the immune response away from allergy," he reported. "In fact there has been a suggestion that they may actually be used therapeutically as an anti-allergic therapy."
In its report the Committee, while noting the huge potential benefits of nanotechnology, warned that a large number of gaps existed regarding the potential toxicological effects of nanoparticles particularly how they act gastrointestinally.
More research in this area was urgently required, said Holgate: "What we would like is for different agencies to pick up on this agenda."
To date, he said, most research into toxicology and nanotechnology had been around small animal work and in vitro studies. This has shown that these particles can penetrate through epithelial barriers and get into other parts of the body.
Holgate reported that nanoparticles can find their way into the liver, into the kidney and even into the brain and have a potentially cumulative effect.
"So it's knowing that we really need to concentrate now on what their effects are," he cautioned.
The Committee urged government and research councils to properly fund research into the potential health and safety risks arising from the use of nanotechnology in the food sector.l On February 4 Food Manufacture is hosting a conference in London on Managing allergens in the food chain. This will be reported in the March issue of the magazine.
Also, see comment p19.