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The in vivo biodistribution and fate of CdSe quantum dots in the murine model: a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry study

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Abstract

Understanding the cytotoxicity of quantum dots strongly relies upon the development of new analytical techniques to gather information about various aspects of the system. In this study, we demonstrate the in vivo biodistribution and fate of CdSe quantum dots in the murine model by means of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). By comparing the hot zones of each element acquired from LA-ICP-MS with those in fluorescence images, together with hematoxylin and eosin-stained images, we are able to perceive the fate and in vivo interactions between quantum dots and rat tissues. One hour after intravenous injection, we found that all of the quantum dots had been concentrated inside the spleen, liver and kidneys, while no quantum dots were found in other tissues (i.e., muscle, brain, lung, etc.). In the spleen, cadmium-114 signals always appeared in conjunction with iron signals, indicating that the quantum dots had been filtered from main vessels and then accumulated inside splenic red pulp. In the liver, the overlapped hot zones of quantum dots and those of phosphorus, copper, and zinc showed that these quantum dots have been retained inside hepatic cells. Importantly, it was noted that in the kidneys, quantum dots went into the cortical areas of adrenal glands. At the same time, hot zones of copper appeared in proximal tubules of the cortex. This could be a sign that the uptake of quantum dots initiates certain immune responses. Interestingly, the intensity of the selenium signals was not proportional to that of cadmium in all tissues. This could be the result of the decomposition of the quantum dots or matrix interference. In conclusion, the advantage in spatial resolution of LA-ICP-MS is one of the most powerful tools to probe the fate, interactions and biodistribution of quantum dots in vivo.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan under grant NSC-100-2221-E-007-012. We gratefully acknowledge Mr. WenFeng Chang for the LA-ICP-MS measurement and Mr. Camden Henderson for English correction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City, 30012, Taiwan

    TsingHai Wang, ChiShiun Chiang & ChuFang Wang

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City, 30012, Taiwan

    HuiAn Hsieh, YiKong Hsieh, ChiShiun Chiang, YuhChang Sun & ChuFang Wang

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  1. TsingHai Wang
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Correspondence to ChuFang Wang.

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Wang, T., Hsieh, H., Hsieh, Y. et al. The in vivo biodistribution and fate of CdSe quantum dots in the murine model: a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry study. Anal Bioanal Chem 404, 3025–3036 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-6417-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-6417-5

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