A Review of in vivo Toxicity of Quantum Dots in Animal Models
Abstract
Abstract Tremendous research efforts have been devoted to nanoparticles for applications in optoelectronics and biomedicine. Over the past decade, quantum dots (QDs) have become one of the fastest growing areas of research in nanotechnology because of outstanding photophysical properties, including narrow and symmetrical emission spectrum, broad fluorescence excitation spectrum, the tenability of the emission wavelength with the particle size and composition, anti-photobleaching ability and stable fluorescence. These characteristics are suitable for optical imaging, drug delivery and other biomedical applications. Research on QDs toxicology has demonstrated QDs affect or damage the biological system to some extent, and this situation is generally caused by the metal ions and some special properties in QDs, which hinders the further application of QDs in the biomedical field. The toxicological mechanism mainly stems from the release of heavy metal ions and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). At the same time, the contact reaction with QDs also cause disorders in organelles and changes in gene expression profiles. In this review, we try to present an overview of the toxicity and related toxicity mechanisms of QDs in different target organs. It is believed that the evaluation of toxicity and the synthesis of environmentally friendly QDs are the primary issues to be addressed for future widespread applications. However, considering the many different types and potential…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a review, done in animal, not in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Chaos and quantum thermalization
- The Dalton quantum chemistry program system
- Quantum dots: synthesis, bioapplications, and toxicity
- Cord Blood Leptin and Adiponectin as Predictors of Adiposity in Children at 3 Years of Age: A Prospective Cohort Study
- A Guide to In Silico Drug Design
- Quantitative metabolomics by H-NMR and LC-MS/MS confirms altered metabolic pathways in diabetes
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.