In vivo toxicity of quantum dots: no cause for concern?

Semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots (QDs), possess unique optical properties that make them useful as fluorescent probes or traceable nanocarriers for in vivo applications ranging from imaging to theranostics. The surfaces of QDs can be conjugated with biomolecules to enable...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Swihart, Mark T., Yong, Ken-Tye
Other Authors: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/102119
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/18145
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
id sg-ntu-dr.10356-102119
record_format dspace
spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1021192020-03-07T13:57:24Z In vivo toxicity of quantum dots: no cause for concern? Swihart, Mark T. Yong, Ken-Tye School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering DRNTU::Science::Medicine Semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots (QDs), possess unique optical properties that make them useful as fluorescent probes or traceable nanocarriers for in vivo applications ranging from imaging to theranostics. The surfaces of QDs can be conjugated with biomolecules to enable in vivo targeted imaging and drug delivery. These unique capabilities and qualities of QDs have made them a powerful platform that can help to reveal important biological insights. Ultimately, they may also provide unique benefits in clinical diagnostic and therapeutic applications. However, progress toward clinical applications has been delayed by concerns about the potential toxicity of QDs. Much of the QDs community has been hesitant to work toward clinical applications, based on reports demonstrating release of toxic heavy metal ions from degradation of QDs in cell culture studies. In addition, photoexcited QDs have been shown to generate reactive oxygen species that are highly toxic to cells. On the other hand, in small animal studies, bioconjugated QDs did not have any observable ill effects at concentrations appropriate for in vivo imaging applications. Thus, conclusions drawn from in vitro and in vivo studies remain somewhat contradictory and do not yet provide a sound basis for confident prediction of in vivo toxicity in humans. 2013-12-06T07:05:48Z 2019-12-06T20:50:01Z 2013-12-06T07:05:48Z 2019-12-06T20:50:01Z 2012 2012 Journal Article Yong, K.-T., & Swihart, M. T. (2012). In vivo toxicity of quantum dots: no cause for concern?. Nanomedicine, 7(11), 1641-1643. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/102119 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/18145 10.2217/nnm.12.152 en Nanomedicine
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Science::Medicine
spellingShingle DRNTU::Science::Medicine
Swihart, Mark T.
Yong, Ken-Tye
In vivo toxicity of quantum dots: no cause for concern?
description Semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots (QDs), possess unique optical properties that make them useful as fluorescent probes or traceable nanocarriers for in vivo applications ranging from imaging to theranostics. The surfaces of QDs can be conjugated with biomolecules to enable in vivo targeted imaging and drug delivery. These unique capabilities and qualities of QDs have made them a powerful platform that can help to reveal important biological insights. Ultimately, they may also provide unique benefits in clinical diagnostic and therapeutic applications. However, progress toward clinical applications has been delayed by concerns about the potential toxicity of QDs. Much of the QDs community has been hesitant to work toward clinical applications, based on reports demonstrating release of toxic heavy metal ions from degradation of QDs in cell culture studies. In addition, photoexcited QDs have been shown to generate reactive oxygen species that are highly toxic to cells. On the other hand, in small animal studies, bioconjugated QDs did not have any observable ill effects at concentrations appropriate for in vivo imaging applications. Thus, conclusions drawn from in vitro and in vivo studies remain somewhat contradictory and do not yet provide a sound basis for confident prediction of in vivo toxicity in humans.
author2 School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
author_facet School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Swihart, Mark T.
Yong, Ken-Tye
format Article
author Swihart, Mark T.
Yong, Ken-Tye
author_sort Swihart, Mark T.
title In vivo toxicity of quantum dots: no cause for concern?
title_short In vivo toxicity of quantum dots: no cause for concern?
title_full In vivo toxicity of quantum dots: no cause for concern?
title_fullStr In vivo toxicity of quantum dots: no cause for concern?
title_full_unstemmed In vivo toxicity of quantum dots: no cause for concern?
title_sort in vivo toxicity of quantum dots: no cause for concern?
publishDate 2013
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/102119
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/18145
_version_ 1681036963986014208