Semiconductor quantum dots (Qdots) are a promising new techno
logy with benefits in the areas of medica
l diagnostics and therapeutics. Qdots genera
lly consist of a semiconductor core, capping she
ll, and surface coating. The semiconductor core of Qdots is often composed of group II and VI meta
ls (
e.g., Cd, Se, Te, Hg) that are known to have toxic properties. Various surface coatings have been shown to stabi
lize Qdots and thus shie
ld ce
lls from the toxic properties of their core e
lements. In this study, HepG2 ce
lls and primary human
liver (PHL) ce
lls were chosen as
in vitro tissue cu
lture mode
ls of human
liver to examine the possib
le adverse effects of tri-
n-octy
lphosphine oxide, po
ly(ma
leic anhydride-
alt-1-tetradecene) copo
lymer (TOPO-PMAT)-coated CdSe/ZnS Qdots (TOPO-PMAT Qdots). The TOPO-PMAT coating is desirab
le for increasing aqueous so
lubi
lity and ease of conjugation to targeting moieties (
e.g., aptamers and peptides). HepG2 ce
lls avid
ly incorporated these TOPO-PMAT Qdots into subce
llu
lar vesic
les. However, PHL ce
lls did not efficient
ly take up TOPO-PMAT Qdots, but nonparenchyma
l ce
lls did (especia
lly Kupffer ce
lls). No acute toxicity or morpho
logica
l changes were noted in either system at the exposure
leve
ls used (up to 40 nM). However, ce
llu
lar stress markers and pro-inf
lammatory cytokines/chemokines were increased in the PHL ce
ll cu
ltures, suggesting that TOPO-PMAT Qdots are not
like
ly to cause acute cytotoxicity in the
liver but may e
licit inf
lammation/hepatitis, demonstrating the importance of re
levant prec
linica
l safety mode
ls. Thus, further
in vivo studies are warranted to ensure that TOPO-PMAT-coated Qdots used in biomedica
l app
lications do not induce inf
lammatory responses as a consequence of hepatic uptake.
Keywords:
liver&qsSearchArea=searchText">human liver; hepatocytes; logy&qsSearchArea=searchText">nanotoxicology; quantum dots; lls&qsSearchArea=searchText">HepG2 cells