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Study on cytotoxicity of polyethylene glycol and albumin bovine serum molecule–modified quantum dots prepared by hydrothermal method

  • Biomedical Materials, Regenerative Medicine and Drug Delivery
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Abstract

Fluorescent quantum dots (QDs) modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and albumin bovine serum (BSA) have profound application in the detection and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. In the present study, the effects and mechanism of PEG and BSA modification on the cytotoxicity of QDs have been explored. It was found that the diameter of the as-prepared QDs, PEG@QDs, BSA@QDs is 3–5 nm, 4–5 nm, and 4–6 nm, respectively. With increase of the treatment time from 0 to 24 h, the HCC cell viability treated with QDs, PEG@QDs, and BSA@QDs obviously decreases, showing a certain time-dependent manner. When the concentration of several nanomaterials is increased from 10 to 90 nM, the cell viability decreases accordingly, exhibiting a certain concentration-dependent manner. Under the same concentration change conditions, the reactive oxygen species contents of cells treated by QDs, PEG@QDs, and BSA@QDs also rise from 7.9 × 103, 6.7 × 103, and 4.7 × 103 to 13.2 × 103, 14.3 × 103, and 12.3 × 103, respectively. In these processes, superoxide dismutase does not play a major role. This study provides strong foundation and useful guidance for QD applications in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Open Project of the Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Nanjing Medical University (NMUAMT201808) and the Natural Sciences Foundation of Tianjin City of China (No. 12JCYBJC19100).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300070, China

    Enlv Hong, Lumin Liu, Chen Li, Dan Shan & Baiqi Wang

  2. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300052, China

    Hailong Cao

  3. Tianjin Institute of Digestive Disease, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environment, Nutrition and Public Health, Tianjin, 300070, China

    Baiqi Wang

  4. National Demonstration Center for Experimental Preventive, Medicine Education (Tianjin Medical University), Tianjin, 300070, China

    Baiqi Wang

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  1. Enlv Hong
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Correspondence to Hailong Cao or Baiqi Wang.

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Hong, E., Liu, L., Li, C. et al. Study on cytotoxicity of polyethylene glycol and albumin bovine serum molecule–modified quantum dots prepared by hydrothermal method. Journal of Materials Research 35, 1135–1142 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2020.78

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2020.78

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