Nanomaterials in Healthcare for Waste Management and Environmental Sustainability

1. Introduction

The global population has swiftly grown from 7 billion to 8 billion over the past decade. This surge has placed significant strain and socio-economic challenges on the need for a more efficient and accessible healthcare system to safeguard individuals from infectious and life-threatening illnesses. Nanotechnology has surfaced as a transformative technology in the production of materials at the nanoscale. The distinctive characteristics make nanomaterials well-suited for a range of practical applications, spanning from biomedical to renewable energy and environmental uses (Horejs et al., 2016). In the realm of healthcare, the nanotechnological revolution has led to groundbreaking advancements such as the creation of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 utilizing lipid nanoparticles the innovation of wearable medical devices/sensors, and wireless bandages designed to stimulate wound healing, benefiting individuals in both urban and rural settings.

Nanotechnology shows significant potential for advancing the future of medical devices and sensors, implants, nano vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutic approaches (Vafaeva et al., 2024; Mittal et al., 2021). These production techniques generate harmful waste as a secondary product, presenting an immediate hazard to both workers and the environment. Producing nanomaterials through green synthesis principles, using renewable resources, facilitates the creation of nanomaterials that are both safe and sustainable. To establish sustainable manufacturing practices, it is essential to consider the entire product life cycle, from raw material extraction (utilizing primary precursors, surfactants, and non-hazardous solvents from natural and sustainable sources) to manufacturing methods, and recycling and reuse at the end of the product's life (Ruggeri et al., 2021). While numerous review articles have been published on synthesizing functional nanomaterials and their biomedical applications, ranging from bioimaging to biosensing, diagnosis, and therapeutics, literature on the design of safe and sustainable nanomaterials remains limited. Moreover, the swiftly advancing realm of sustainable nanotechnology requires the establishment of design principles for creating sustainable nanomaterials intended for biomedical applications. Consequently, this review seeks to provide a summary of a design framework, namely universal design criteria, aimed at synthesizing sustainable nanomaterials.