Bioeffects of CdTe quantum dots on human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Quantum dots (QDs) hold great potential for applications in nanomedicine, however, their health effects are largely unknown. In the present study, the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of CdTe QDs were examined in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The QDs exhibited a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on cell growth. It was shown that after a 12 h treatment QDs at 1, 10, and 50 microg x ml(-1) induced formation of yH2AX foci, indicative of DNA damage, in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, QD treatment clearly induced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Pre-treatment with N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a ROS scavenger, could inhibit the induction of ROS by QDs, as well as the formation of yH2AX foci. Taken together, our data indicate that CdTe QDs have cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on HUVECs, and that ROS generation may be involved in QD induced DNA damage.