Story by Neethu Ramchandar
Photos by Kathryn Boyd-Batstone 
Three years ago, frenzied consumers lined customer service aisles returning plastic goods ranging from children’s sippy cups to SIGG water bottles. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had announced that large quantities of the chemical compound Bisphenol A, more commonly known as BPA, could adversely affect the prostrate and mammary glands and, in some cases, cause early-onset puberty. The result was widespread concern on what toxins might be seeping from everyday goods.
In 2002, 2.8 million tons of BPA were produced globally, according to Chemical Market Associates. It’s been a common chemical since the 1960s, used in food packaging products ranging from hard plastic bottles to metal food cans. Despite the uproar in 2009, the dangers of BPA still aren’t clear, but in the wake of the FDA’s announcement many companies recalled items containing the chemical to appease frightened customers.
“Bisphenol A was created out of consumer desire,” says Dr. James Hutchison, a University of Oregon chemistry professor and director of the Safer Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Initiative. “BPA was delivered to companies to combine in their products and, after some time, it was discovered to have harmful effects. It’s the reality of many substances; we simply don’t know their long-term effects.”
The buzz around the potentially toxic side of BPA has marred the reputation of many chemically produced items despite their everyday presence in American life.
“Everything around you was made with the help of chemists,” Hutchison says, “but nothing around you was made with the intention of being harmful.”
To reduce the possible damage posed by chemically created products, researchers like Hutchison are exploring a new realm of study: green nanotechnology. Often dubbed “responsible nanotechnology,” the science manipulates compounds on the atomic level to increase their environmental stability. Scientists like Hutchison aim to “green” the methods of nanotechnology so that they help rather than hurt the environment.
“We know so little,” he says. “There is the potential to make a mistake like they did with BPA, but if you can understand the rules of placing together chemical compounds, we can accelerate our learning process and get it right the first time without having toxic elements arise 20 years after a product is released.”
Compounds like BPA are long sequences of chemical combinations that consumers rarely think about when purchasing a product. Hutchison’s lab, commonly known as the Hutch Lab, breaks compounds down to the molecular level in order to tinker with various links in the formation. As each strand is created, it’s sent to the toxicology department at Oregon State University to be tested for hazardous elements. By changing small components and understanding the effects, scientists in the Hutch Lab hope to produce a set of design rules that will help others understand how to combine chemical compounds without negative consequences. If perfected, the information could prove invaluable to the growth of green nanotechnology.
“In almost every imaginable sector and aspect of human existence there is a possibility for nanotechnology to revolutionize a process,” Hutchison says. “Much like the computer once changed our lives, nanotechnology, especially green nanotechnology, can do the same.”
Global warming is just one arena where green nanotechnology could prove to be beneficial. In his book Green Technology: An A to Z Guide, Dustin Mulvaney, an assistant professor of environmental studies at San Jose State University, explains that implementing green technology could reduce the amount of carbon dioxide the US releases into the air by at least 2.5 percent. The reduction may seem small but could save companies a total of $240 billion in energy and fuel expenses by 2020. In order to achieve this number, Mulvaney says green nanotechnology would need to be used in fields ranging from transportation to urban planning.
However, in the quest to create greener material there is the potential for experiments to go haywire. Critics of green nanotechnology and nanotechnology in general argue that chemicals change their properties when broken down to the molecular level. So, the thinking goes, a scientist could falsely judge a product’s safety despite testing for toxic elements.
There is also the fear that such small substances could be easily released into the atmosphere. Instead of preventing additional damage to the ozone layer, they might actually aggravate the problem. In an article for industry website NanoWerk, author Michael Berger explains that most of the positive attention paid to green nanotechnology revolves around the end product, but that the consequences of creating greener products need just as much focus.
One potential consequence cuts into the availability of food. When carbon nanomaterials were used in wheat production, Mulvaney reports they actually prevented the crop from protecting against pollutants. In another case, using carbon nanomaterials delayed the ripening of rice plants and threw off the harvesting cycle. Both experiments resulted in less food available for consumers.
In another instance, Mulvaney cites the potential harm nanotechnology could cause humans. A 2007 National Institute of Standards and Technology study found that nanotubes less than 200 nanometers long “could easily penetrate human lung cells, posing an increased risk to health.” What those specific risks might be, however, has yet to be fully investigated.
With any new field of research there are unknowns, but for nanotechnology those unknowns needn’t hold up progress, Hutchison says. By carefully studying green nanotechnology and creating a set of industry rules, he hopes to avoid the kind of negative effects of the BPA scare. Many scientists agree with Hutchison and are even now implementing nanotechnology into products available for purchase.
According to the Nanoscience Institute, cosmetics and perfume giant L’Oreal has the sixth highest number of United States nanotechnology patents. In 2008, the company devoted over $600 million to nano research for application in moisturizers, sunscreen, and hair products. Nanotechnology has also been integrated into fashion, as explained in a 2004 National Public Radio report by Leda Hartman.
“Material treated with nanotechnology can be engineered to do almost anything—repel liquids, resist wrinkles, dry fast, and breath,” Hartman explains. “Instead of using topical treatments, which eventually wear off, the chemicals in nanotechnology actually form a molecular bond with the fabric.”
Similar almost “sci-fi” changes may begin appearing in other products as green nanotechnology develops.
“Imagine if you could program your water bottle so that after a certain number of years consumers would know to return it to the producer and it would begin to degrade or be reconstructed into a new product,” Hutchison says. “We’re not there yet, but that’s where our research is leading us.”
With green nanotechnology growing in popularity, more universities have integrated a green chemistry curriculum that Hutchison and his team pioneered back in 1997. Hutchison developed the course along with fellow UO chemistry professor Kenneth Doxsee and a team of graduate students; the group spent nearly a year hunting through chemistry books for experiments to update and make environmentally friendly. Hutchison also teaches other scientists about his research by inviting fellow professors from across the country to visit the Hutch Lab.
“It’s amazing to watch the ripple effect,” Hutchison says. “With so many minds focused on this technology, we’re most definitely moving toward a scientific revolution.”

Gallery • 4 Photos

Nano’s New Leaf