A comparative study about toxicity of CdSe quantum dots on reproductive system development of mice and controlling this toxicity by ZnS coverage

Objective(s): Medicinal benefits of quantum dots have been proved in recent years but there is little known about their toxicity especially in vivo toxicity. In order to use quantum dots in medical applications, studies ontheir in vivo toxicity is important. Materials and Methods: CdSe:ZnS quantum dots were injected in 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg doses to male mice10 days later, mice were sacrificed and five micron slides were prepared structural and optical properties of quantum dots were evaluated using XRD. Results: Histological studies of testis tissue showed high toxic effect of CdSe:ZnS in 40 mg/kg group. Histological studies of epididymis did not show any effect of quantum dots in terms of morphology and tube structure. Mean concentration of LH and testosterone and testis weight showed considerable changes in mice injected with 40 mg/kg dose of CdSe:ZnS compared to control group. However, FSH and body weight did not show any difference with control group. Conclusion: Although it has been reported that CdSe is highly protected from the environment by its shell, but this study showed high toxicity for CdSe:ZnS when it is used in vivo which could be suggested that shell could contribute to increased toxicity of quantum dots. Considering lack of any previous study on this subject, our study could potentially be used as an basis for further extensive studies investigating the effects of quantum dots toxicity on development of male sexual system.