Toxicity of quantum dots on target organs and immune system

Abstract

Quantum dots (QDs), due to their superior luminous properties, have been proven to be a very promising biological probe, which can be used as a candidate material for clinical applications. The toxicity of QDs in the environment and biological systems has caused widespread concern in the nanosphere, but their immune toxicity and their impact on the immune system are still relatively unknown. At present, the research on the toxicity of QDs is mainly focused on in vitro models, but few have systematically evaluated their adverse effects on target organs. Animal studies have shown that QDs can be accumulated in various organs due to their main exposure routes, thereby posing a potential threat to major organs. This review briefly describes general characteristics and the wide medical applications of QDs and focuses on the adverse effects of QDs on major target organs, such as liver, lung, kidney, brain, and spleen, after acute and chronic exposure. QDs mainly cause changes in the corresponding indicators of target organs, such as oxidative damage, and in severe cases cause hyperemia, tissue necrosis, and even death. In addition to causing direct damage to target organs, QDs can also cause a large number of immune cells to accumulate and cause inflammatory reactions when causing damage to other major organs. Whether it is to avoid the risk of people contacting QDs in production and life, or to realize the clinical applications of QDs, is very essential to conduct systematic in vivo toxicity assessment of QDs.

Targeted modulation of immune cells and tissues using engineered biomaterials

“…Therefore, targeting these lymph node APC populations seems promising for promoting both immunity and tolerance. Of note, in this work, quantum dots were used owing to their bright fluorescent properties, but are known to release toxic metals over time 66 . In general, an important question to address with any polymer-based or nanoparticle-based DC-targeting strategy is whether the material is effectively captured in the dLN chain following injection, or whether it passes through the thoracic duct and enters the systemic circulation 13 , raising potential toxicity concerns, in particular for potent immunostimulants.…”

Functional Micro-/Nanostructures in Agrofood Science: Precise Inspection, Hazard Elimination, and Potential Health Risks

“…However, when QDs are used as fluorescent probes to detect hazardous substances, photobleaching, background noise, and matrix interference are still major problems that affect the accuracy of the detection results . In addition, the toxicity of QDs is a potential threat to the environment and human health . Therefore, it is necessary to further develop new preparation processes to reduce the interference of environmental factors to the extent in an environmentally friendly manner and to greatly reduce the potential toxicity.…”

“…56 In addition, the toxicity of QDs is a potential threat to the environment and human health. 57 Therefore, it is necessary to further develop new preparation processes to reduce the interference of environmental factors to the extent in an environmentally friendly manner and to greatly reduce the potential toxicity.…”

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“…Indeed, the phagocytes of large aggregates of CdS/CdTe QDs (25-100 nm) is lower than smaller QDs (<25 nm) on fish and bivalves [92]. However, the study of adverse effects of QDs is still under study, such as their effect over liver, kidney, lung, spleen and brain [93].…”