Is nonstick nontoxic?

Is nonstick nontoxic?

The fluorine-carbon bond has long been respected as one of the strongest of all chemical links. With a little intervention from laboratory scientists, unique fluorocarbons can be produced that are highly inert and can withstand extremely high temperatures. The Teflon that is used to coat nonstick cookware is perhaps the best-known example of a fluorocarbon compound. Fluorocarbons have also proved useful in biomedical research, such as the development of artificial blood, in part because they were thought to be so biologically non-reactive (SN: 9/26/87, p.200).

But according to new research in the March 3 NATURE, some fluorocarbons may not be as stable as presumed. Scientists at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, report that perfluorodecalin -- a major ingredient in the only artificial blood substitute to undergo clinical trials in the United States -- and perhaps other fluorocarbons can react with organic molecules under surprisingly mild chemical conditions such as those found in biological systems. The discovery may make possible the construction of novel industrial chemicals with useful properties. However, the researchers say, the newly found reactivity calls into question the assumed nontoxically of fluorocarbons.

A spokeperson from the Wilmington, Del.-based Du Pont Co., maker of Teflon, declined to comment on the new findings until company researchers had a chance to study the paper.