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Nature Nanotechnology 4, 409–410 (1 July 2009) | doi:10.1038/nnano.2009.167

Nanotoxicology: How do nanotubes suppress T cells?

Alison Elder

Engineered nanomaterials have diverse physicochemical properties, and the question of whether their unique properties are correlated with adverse outcomes for the environment and our health is actively being investigated. With outstanding tensile and conducting properties, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) — concentric multiple hollow rolls of graphitic carbon that are several microns long and tens of nanometres in diameter — are poised to revolutionize many fields from engineering to medicine.