Researchers find possible reason for the carcinogenicity of silica dust

Scientists from LPI RAS, Skoltech, and MIPT have discovered unusual properties of silicon nanoparticles. They have shown that at normal conditions silica nanoparticles are enriched with oxygen. Such nanoparticles are magnetic and contain reactive oxygen species (in particular, peroxo- and ozonide ions and oxo-radicals), which may explain the known high toxicity and carcinogenicity of silica dust.