Are Quantum Dots Toxic? Exploring the Discrepancy Between Cell Culture and Animal Studies

Acc. Chem. Res.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ar300040z

In one of my previous post, a quantum dot toxicity study on primates showed limited short-term toxicity and unknown long-term toxicity. In this account, various QD toxicity studies were summarized. They were trying to explore the causes of the discrepancy in  "in vitro" and "in vivo" QD toxicological data.  They believe dosing provides one explanation for these findings. Under culture conditions, a cell experiences a constant QD dose, but the in vivo QD concentration can vary, and the organ-specific dose may not be high enough to induce detectable toxicity. Because QDs are retained within animals, long-term toxicity may be a problem but has not been established.
Finally, they suggest that in future QD toxicity studies more specific toxicological questions should be asked. For example: “At what dose are 5 nm CdSe QDs that are stabilized with mercaptoacetic acid and conjugated to the antibody herceptin toxic to HeLa cells?” rather than “Are QDs toxic?”