Health experts from the University of Sydney are calling for a new safety body to be set up to monitor the use of nanomaterials.

Health experts are calling for a safety standards body to be set up to monitor the use of minuscule particles added to many foods, sunscreens and cosmetics, amid concern some may damage people's health.

Academics from the University of Sydney say while some nanomaterials such as colloidal silver and titanium dioxide are restricted in parts of Europe, they remain freely available in Australia.

They want a government-funded national standards body established to investigate nanomaterials and devise specific tests to examine how they affect human body cells, the immune system, and gut bacteria.

"The standard tests we do these days (for nanomaterials) are same as we do for standard chemicals but these nanomaterials have different properties," Associate Professor Wojciech Chrzanowski, from Sydney Nano and the university's faculty of pharmacy, told AAP on Tuesday.

"So we probably need a slightly different standard and different tests."

Nanomaterials are 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, with some occurring naturally in foods, while others are synthetic.

Scientists have benefited from using nanotechnology to enhance the delivery of chemotherapy drugs to fight cancer cells, and help sunscreen protect the skin from harmful UV rays.

But some research has raised concerns about the possible side effects of certain nanomaterials added to things like tattoo ink, cosmetics, and the shiny coatings on tablets and lollies.

Questions have been raised in particular about titanium dioxide and its effects on the immune system.

Assoc Prof Chrzanowsk said while a healthy human body can deal with most nanoparticles, little is known about what impact they can have on people who are ill, particularly those with weak immune systems.

"We don't necessarily understand how nanoparticles interact with cells and gut bacteria and what are their precise properties, so we need to analyse in depth what happens between nanoparticles and the cells or bacteria," he said.

"Previously we just chucked them into the body, or into the petri dish, and said 'oh they are fine', but now we see it's not exactly right because we are trying to tease out what actually happens between them and the structures inside the cells."

Food Standards Austrailia New Zealand requires any new foods made using nanotechnology that may pose potential safety concerns to undergo scientific tests before it can be supplied.

It has set up a nanotechnology advisory group to guide future use of nanotechnology in food and packaging.

Dr Laurence Macia, an immunologist at the University of Sydney's school of medical sciences, said one major concern was what the possible long-term impacts are of exposure to nanomaterials.

"France and Germany have removed some products that contain nanomaterials such as titanium dioxide, and it is a requirement products are labelled to show they have nanomaterials, but there isn't even a discussion in Australia," she said.