Cytotoxicity of CdSe-based quantum dots incorporated in glass nanoparticles evaluated using human keratinocyte HaCaT cells

Figures & data

Fig. 1. (A) The structure and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of a small glass particle incorporating multiple CdSe/ZnS QDs (prepared at AIST) and (B) The structure of a CdSe/ZnS QD coated with polymer (commercially available).

Table 1. Nanoparticle samples used for testing their cytotoxicity.

Sample number	Material	PL λ^a/nm	QD size/nm	NP size/nm	Surface of material	Supplier (product code)
1	Glass particles incorporating CdSe/ZnS QDs	610	~5^b	~25–50	–OH/glass	AIST
2	Glass particles incorporating CdSe/ZnS QDs	610	~5^b	~25–50	–COOH/glass	AIST
3	CdSe/ZnS QD coated with polymer	545	~4^b	~10–20	–COOH/polymer^c	Invitrogen (Q21391MP)
4	CdSe/ZnS QD coated with polymer	625	~8^b	~10–20	–COOH/polymer^c	Invitrogen (A10200)
5	CdSe/ZnS QD coated with polymer	655	~10  ×  12^d	~10–20	–COOH/polymer^c	Invitrogen (Q21321MP)
6	CdSeTe/ZnS QD coated with polymer	800	~7  ×  10^e	~10–20	–COOH/polymer^c	Invitrogen (Q21371MP)
7	Glass particles without incorporating QDs	–	–	~25–50	–OH/glass	AIST
8	Glass particles without incorporating QDs	–	–	~25–50	–COOH/glass	AIST

Notes:

^a PL λ is peak wavelength of photoluminescence (PL) emission.

^b QD is spherical. QD size means its diameter.

^c Main component of the polymer is polyethylene glycol (PEG).

^d QD is ellipsoid. QD size is represented by its major axis (long diameter) × minor axis (short diameter).

^e QD is pyramid. QD size is represented by its major axis (long diameter) × minor axis (short diameter).

Fig. 2. Cell viability of HaCaT cells after exposure to the nanoparticle samples listed in Table 1 for 6 h (A) and 24 h (B).

Notes: White, gray and black columns show cell viability after exposure to nanoparticles (NPs) at QD concentration of 0.1, 1.0 and 10 nM, respectively. The values indicate means ± S.D. of triple determinations.