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. 2019 Mar 20;9(3):465.
doi: 10.3390/nano9030465.

Nanoparticles for Bioapplications: Study of the Cytotoxicity of Water Dispersible CdSe(S) and CdSe(S)/ZnO Quantum Dots

Fatemeh Mirnajafizadeh  1 , Deborah Ramsey  2 , Shelli McAlpine  3 , Fan Wang  4 , John Arron Stride  5
Affiliations

Nanoparticles for Bioapplications: Study of the Cytotoxicity of Water Dispersible CdSe(S) and CdSe(S)/ZnO Quantum Dots

Fatemeh Mirnajafizadeh et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

Semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) have unique optical and physical properties that make them potential imaging tools in biological and medical applications. However, concerns over the aqueous dispersivity, toxicity to cells, and stability in biological environments may limit the use of QDs in such applications. Here, we report an investigation into the cytotoxicity of aqueously dispersed CdSe(S) and CdSe(S)/ZnO core/shell QDs in the presence of human colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT-116) and a human skin fibroblast cell line (WS1). The cytotoxicity of the precursor solutions used in the synthesis of the CdSe(S) QDs was also determined in the presence of HCT-116 cells. CdSe(S) QDs were found to have a low toxicity at concentrations up to 100 µg/mL, with a decreased cell viability at higher concentrations, indicating a highly dose-dependent response. Meanwhile, CdSe(S)/ZnO core/shell QDs exhibited lower toxicity than uncoated QDs at higher concentrations. Confocal microscopy images of HCT-116 cells after incubation with CdSe(S) and CdSe(S)/ZnO QDs showed that the cells were stable in aqueous concentrations of 100 µg of QDs per mL, with no sign of cell necrosis, confirming the cytotoxicity data.

Keywords: HCT-116; WS1; aqueous synthesis; bioapplications of QDs; core/shell QDs; in vitro cytotoxicity of QDs; water dispersive QDs.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they hold no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PXRD of as- synthesized QDs: (a) CdSe QDs and (b) CdSe(S)/ZnO QDs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
HRTEM images of QDs: (a,b) CdSe QDs and (c) CdSe(S)/ZnO QDs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Optical spectra of CdSe(S) and CdSe(S)/ZnO QDs.
Figure 4
Figure 4
XPS spectra of QDs: (a) CdSe(S) and (b) CdSe(S)/ZnO QDs: Binding energy of (A) Se3d, (B) S2p, (C) C1s, (D) Cd3d, (E) O1s, and (F) Zn2p.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The results of cytotoxicity assays of CdSe(S) QDs, Cd-MPA, and Cd-Se-MPA precursors towards human colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT-116). Error bars indicate standard error of the mean and cell media without treatment with QDs was used as a control.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The results of cytotoxicity assays of dialyzed CdSe(S) QDs towards human colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT-116). Error bars indicate standard error of the mean and cell media without treatment with QDs was used as a control.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The results of cytotoxicity assays of CdSe(S)/ZnO core/shell QDs towards human colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT-116). Error bars indicate standard error of the mean and cell media without treatment with QDs was used as a control.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The results of cytotoxicity assays of CdSe(S) and CdSe(S)/ZnO QDs towards human skin fibroblast (WS1) cell line. Error bars indicate standard error of the mean and cell media without treatment with QDs was used as a control.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Confocal images of HCT-116 cells with QDs: (a) fixed cells (red) and CdSe(S) QDs (green); (b) live cells (blue) and CdSe(S) QDs (green); (c) live cells (blue) and CdSe(S)/ZnO QDs (green).
Figure 10
Figure 10
Photoluminescence spectra of CdSe(S) QDs (A) and CdSe(S)/ZnO QDs (B): (a) in water and (b) in cell media. The excitation wavelength of the instrument was adjusted at 405 nm at the time of measuring the photoluminescence (PL).
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