AI Article Synopsis

  • Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are gaining attention for their easy synthesis and potential uses, but their safety, particularly biotoxicity, needs to be thoroughly tested.
  • The study evaluated the hepatotoxic effects of three types of CQDs: CQDs-AC, CQDs-Spd, and CQDs-AC/Spd, finding that CQDs-Spd caused significant liver damage and reduced liver function in mice, while CQDs-AC did not.
  • In vitro tests showed that CQDs-Spd reduced the viability of liver cells and induced oxidative stress, suggesting these CQDs are more harmful due to their characteristics, particularly their high positive surface charge.

Article Abstract

Recently, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have become popular because of their simple synthesis and potential applications. Although CQDs have high biocompatibility, their biotoxicity must be verified to reduce the possible risks associated with large-scale application. In this study, the hepatotoxicity of three CQD types, namely diammonium citrate (AC)-based (CQDs-AC), spermidine trihydrochloride (Spd)-based (CQDs-Spd), and AC- and Spd-based CQDs (CQDs-AC/Spd), were evaluated in vivo and in vitro. It was observed in vivo that CQDs-Spd and CQDs-AC/Spd, but not CQDs-AC, caused histopathological damage, including liver steatosis and mild mixed inflammatory cell infiltration; however, reduced liver function was only observed in CQD-Spd-treated mice. The in vitro results revealed that only CQDs-Spd significantly decreased the number of viable HepG2 cells (NADH depletion) and induced oxidative stress (heme oxygenase-1 activation) after 24 h of exposure, which promoted inflammatory factor secretion (NF-κB activation). Additionally, decreasing zonula occludens-2 and α1-antitrypsin protein expression in HepG2 cells suggested that CQD-Spd exposure increases the risk of liver diseases. Our results revealed that CQDs-Spd had greater hepatotoxic potential than CQDs-AC and CQDs-AC/Spd, which might be attributable to their high positive surface charge. Overall, the risk of CQD-induced hepatotoxic risk must be considered when applying positively charged CQDs.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2024.113760DOI Listing

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