State of Academic Knowledge on Toxicity and Biological Fate of Quantum Dots

Abstract

Quantum dots (QDs), an important class of emerging nanomaterial, are widely anticipated to find application in many consumer and clinical products in the near future. Premarket regulatory scrutiny is, thus, an issue gaining considerable attention. Previous review papers have focused primarily on the toxicity of QDs. From the point of view of product regulation, however, parameters that determine exposure (e.g., dosage, transformation, transportation, and persistence) are just as important as inherent toxicity. We have structured our review paper according to regulatory risk assessment practices, in order to improve the utility of existing knowledge in a regulatory context. Herein, we summarize the state of academic knowledge on QDs pertaining not only to toxicity, but also their physicochemical properties, and their biological and environmental fate. We conclude this review with recommendations on how to tailor future research efforts to address the specific needs of regulators.

Maghemite Functionalization for Antitumor Drug Vehiculization

“…However, systematic studies on the possible adverse effects of the introduction of the NPs in the body are absent (Soenen et al, 2011), and in fact there are many aspects of the problem that should be considered, ranging from the kind of particles and coatings used to the type of cells employed and the assay chosen for toxicity evaluation. Some reviews have been recently elaborated on the subject (De Jong & Borm, 2008;Hussain et al, 2009;Lewinski et al, 2008;Maurer-Jones et al, 2009;Pelley et al, 2009;Singh et al, 2010;Soenen et al, 2011), and so we will give only a brief account, mainly focused on the kind of particles used in our investigation. We will hence not consider the particular case of drug vehicles designed to be delivered to the patient though respiratory ways (Oberdörster, 2009), as in this route the first unwanted effects can occur already in the lung cells, and only later, after passing the alveolo-capillary barrier, they can get into the bloodstream and spread in the body, where either beneficial or undesired effects can occur as well.…”

Mechanisms of cellular adaptation to quantum dots – the role of glutathione and transcription factor EB

“…Several types of QDs were selected for this study including: Uncapped (poorly stable) CdTe QDs, capped (stable) CdSe/ZnS QDs and poly ethylene glycol (PEG) conjugated (highly stable) CdSe/ZnS/PEG QDs (Lovric et al 2005a(Lovric et al , 2005bChoi et al 2007Choi et al , 2008. Uncapped QDs readily leak core components (cadmium and tellurium) and are more prone to aggregation (Pelley et al 2009). The cadmium content of uncapped CdTe QDs and capped CdSe/ZnS QDs was determined using flame atomic absorption (FAA).…”

Quantum dots and prion proteins

“…However, minimum studies have examined the toxicity of these nanomaterials. [91][92][93] Moreover, their toxicity evaluation is highly complicated, due to the diversity of materials. In sharp contrast to conventional hazardous materials, the attention has to be paid to the nanoparticle-specific problems, including the fact that the surface of nanomaterials is very active due to the large surface area and surface-to-volume ratio.…”