Toxicokinetics and tissue distribution of cadmium-based Quantum Dots in the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

Tissue specific responses to cadmium-based quantum dots in the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

“…Recent studies suggest that the gills are more susceptible to dissolved metal toxicity, while digestive gland is more sensitive to ENPs (McCarthy et al, 2013;Gomes et al, 2012). Higher ENP concentrations were found in the digestive gland compared to gills from bivalves exposed to different ENPs, such as fullerenes, Au NPs, Ag NPs, CuO NPs and CdTe QDs (Tedesco et al, 2010;Al-Subiai et al, 2012;Gomes et al, 2012;McCarthy et al, 2013;Rocha et al, 2015a). This differential tissue accumulation was related to highly developed processes for the cellular internalization of nano-and microscale particles (endocytosis and phagocytosis) in the digestive gland cells (Moore et al, 2006;Canesi et al, 2012), nevertheless it has been demonstrated that gills can also be a main target for ENPs (Koehler et al, 2008;Trevisan et al, 2014).…”

“…In vivo exposure to CdTe QDs (6 nm; 10 µgCd.L -1 ; 14 d) also induced immunotoxic and genotoxic effects in the marine mussel M. galloprovincialis (Rocha et al, 2014) and CdS QDs (5-6 nm; 10 µgCd.L -1 ; 14 d) induced behaviour and biochemical impairment in whole soft tissues of the marine clam Scrobicularia plana (Buffet et al, 2014a). The estimated biologic half-life (t1/2) of CdTe QDs for M. galloprovincialis (t1/2 > 50 d) is longer than for other ENPs in bivalves and results indicated the digestive gland role in QD storage, while the haemolymph is the route for QDs and dissolved Cd distribution between tissues (Rocha et al, 2015a).…”

“…in several studies using in vitro and in vivo exposure (Gagné et al, 2008a;Peyrot et al, 2009;Katsumiti et al, 2014;Rocha et al, 2014;2015a;Buffet et al, 2015). However, the mechanisms of QD-mediated toxicity are not well established and depend on size, chemical composition, surface coating and exposure conditions.…”

“…From the context of aquatic nanotoxicology, bivalve species have the higher capacity to concentrate Cd-based QDs from water than other animals, which can induce severe tissue and cellular damage (Gagné et al, 2008a;Peyrot et al, 2009;Rocha et al, 2014;2015a;Buffet et al, 2015). In vitro toxicity of CdS QDs (5 nm; 10 -4 -10 2 mgCd.L -1 ; 24 h) in Mytilus galloprovincialis hemocytes and gill cells was associated with extraand intracellular release of Cd 2+ ions and consequent oxidative damage (Katsumiti et al, 2014).…”

“…The increasing production and use of these engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) will likely increase their release into the aquatic environment. Although QDs concentrations in the environment are unavailable, there are increasing concerns about their possible ecological risks and toxicity to human health (Hardman, 2006;Rocha et al, 2014Rocha et al, , 2015a.…”