Metalloestrogenic effects of quantum dots.

Aim: To investigate the metalloestrogenic effects of cadmium telluride quantum dots (QDs) in both human breast cancer cells and in vivo in mice.

Materials & Methods: Human breast cancer cells (MCF-7 cells) were utilized to study QDs, cadmium and 17β-estradiol induced estrogen-related genomic and nongenomic signaling. Female prepubescent and ovariectomized adult mice were treated with CdTe QDs to assess whether QD-induced estrogenicity would lead to uterine changes.

Probing and preventing quantum dot-induced cytotoxicity with multimodal alpha-lipoic acid in multiple dimensions of the peripheral nervous system.

Aim: Toxicity of nanoparticles developed for biomedical applications is extensively debated as no uniform guidelines are available for studying nanomaterial safety, resulting in conflicting data obtained from different cell types. This study demonstrates the varied toxicity of a selected type of nanoparticle, cadmium telluride quantum dots (QDs), in three increasingly complex cell models of the peripheral nervous system.

Materials & Methods: QD-induced cytotoxicity was assessed via cell viability assays and biomarkers of subcellular damage in PC12 cells and mixed primary dispersed dorsal root ganglia (DRG) cultures.