ABSTRACT
Background: Quantum dots [QDs] are new types of fluorescent materials for biological labeling. QDs toxicity study is an essential requirement for future clinical applications. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate cytotoxic effects of CdSe: ZnS QDs on male reproductive system
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, the different concentrations of CdSe: ZnS QDs [10, 20 and 40 mg/kg] were injected to 32 male mice [adult group] and 24 pregnant mice [embryo group] on day 8 of gestation. The histological changes of testis and epididymis were studied by a light microscopy, and the number of seminiferous tubules between two groups was compared. One-way analysis of variance [one-way Anova] using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences [SPSS, SPSS Inc., USA] version 16 were performed for statistical analysis
Results: In adult group, histological studies of testis tissues showed a high toxicity of CdSe: ZnS in 40 mg/kg dose followed by a decrease in lamina propria; destruction in interstitial tissue; deformation of seminiferous tubules; and a reduction in number of spermatogonia, sper-matocytes, and spermatids. However, there was an interesting result in fetal testis development, meaning there was no significant effect on morphology and structure of the seminiferous tubules and number of sperm stem cells. Also histological study of epididymis tissues in both groups [adult and embryo groups] showed no significant effect on morphology and structure of tubule and epithelial cells, but there was a considerable reduction in number of spermatozoa in the lumen of the epididymal duct in 40 mg/kg dose of adult group
Conclusion: The toxicity of QDs on testicular tissue of the mice embryo and adult are different before and after puberty. Due to lack of research in this field, this study can be an introduction to evaluate the toxicity of QDs on male reproduction system in different stages of development
ABSTRACT
Background and Aims: quantum dots [QDs], as colloidal nanocrystalline semiconductors, present QD wavelengths in terms of biomedical assays and imaging, though the high toxicity of their core demands to be taken into consideration. Investigating this subject is taken into account as an important concept concerning use of these nanoparticles in the medical applications
Materials and Methods: 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg doses of mentioned QDs were injected into some male mice. 10 days after CdSe/ZnS, and the serum sample of mice were measured in regard with FSH, LH and testosterone assays. The testis and body weight of various groups were determined
Results: within 10 days after injection of 40 mg/kg CdSe:ZnS, the serum LH concentration increased from 0.64 to 0.79 ng/ml and the serum testosterone concentration declined from 1.33 to 0.58 mIu/ml. Mean concentration of LH and testosterone CdSe:ZnS in 40 mg/kg dose showed high toxicity of CdSe:ZnS in 40 mg/kg dose. The FSH concentration did not reveal any significant differences compared to the control group. The body weight in all groups and the testicular weight in the treated mice with 10, 20 mg/kg CdSe QDs were similar to the control group. No significant changes were observed in regard with relative testis weights, whereas the testis weight decreased significantly from 0.093 to 0.055 gr [p< 0.01] in the mice receiving 40 mg/kg CdSe:ZnS
Conclusions: quantum dots were demonstrated to be capable of inducing detrimental effects on the reproductive systems of male mice. Since no study has been conducted in this realm, the present study can serve as an introduction to more studies regarding the effects of quantum dots toxicity on the development of male sexual system
ABSTRACT
The field of nanotechnology is rapidly expanding .The development quantum dots quantum dot [QDs], show great promise for treatment and diagnosis of cancer and targeted drug delivery little data on the toxicity of QDs, especially for in vivo applications, are available. As a result, concerns exist over their toxicity for in vivo applications. Then, cytotoxic effects of cadmium selenide [CdSe] quantum dots on organs development before maturity were studied in this study. One month old male Mice treated by injection of CdSe at the doses of 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg. Structural and optical properties of quantum dots were studied by XRD, UV-Vis absorption spectrum and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and the number of cells in seminiferous tubes of various groups were analyzed using SPSS 16 program [one way ANOVA test]. Histological studies of testis tissue showed high toxicity of cdse in the dose of 40 mg/kg which followed by decrease in lamina propria thickness, destruction in interstitial tissue, deformation of seminiferoustubes, and reduction in number cells. Also histological study of lung tissue showed in 20 and 40 mg/kg doses destruction in interstitial and epithelium tissues. On the whole, this study showed high toxicity of cdse on development of testis and lung tissues, even in low doses considering lack of literature review in this field, this study can be an introduction to researches about toxicity effect of quantum dots on development of organs