An in vitro assessment of the potential toxicity of Cadmium Selenide nanoparticles
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Date
2012
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Abstract
Nanotechnology is steadily finding its application in all aspects of the consumer industry,
science and engineering. At a relative pace Cadmium Selenide (CdSe) nanoparticles are
gaining increased attention for their potential use in biomedical applications such as bioimaging
of tissues, disease diagnosis and biological labelling due to its unique optical and
electronic properties. Exposure of these particles to humans and other biological systems
raise huge concerns with regards to their safety. In this study, water soluble cysteine capped
CdSe nanocrystals, were prepared through a one pot green route method. The prepared CdSe
nanocrystals were characterized using Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), High
resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Ultra violet spectroscopy (UV) and
Photoluminescence (PL) analysis to establish the size, shape, dispersion, aggregation state,
crystalline nature and optical properties of CdSe nanoparticles. The in vitro effects of CdSe
nanoparticles on DNA stability, red blood cells (RBC’s) and blood platelets were evaluated.
DNA was exposed to CdSe nanoparticles and its assessment on DNA stability was confirmed
by agarose gel electrophoresis and spectrophotometry. Damage to DNA structure was
observed at 200 μg/ml of CdSe. In vitro assays carried out on RBC damage included
reducing power and chelating activity of iron. The results showed that the CdSe nanocrystals
exhibited high reducing power and sufficient chelating activity, which would be able to
impair the function of haemoglobin. CdSe nanoparticles promoted platelet aggregation in a
dose dependent manner. Based on the findings of this study the biosafety of CdSe
nanoparticles is not guaranteed and further studies need to be conducted to ascertain the
safety of CdSe nanoparticles for possible use in biological systems.
Description
Dissertation submitted to the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology in the
Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Zululand (South Africa) in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master (Msc) degree in Biochemistry, 2012.
Keywords
Nanoparticle - Cadmium Selenide (CdSe), Disease diagnosis and drug delivery