Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026
Solubilization and Bio-conjugation of Quantum Dots and Bacterial Toxicity Assays by Growth Curve and Plate Count
Published on: July 11, 2012
Toxicity of CdTe quantum dots on yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Xiaole Han1, Lu Lai, Fangfang Tian
1State Key Laboratory of Virology and Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Biology and Medicine, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, PR China.
Abstract:
Along with the widespread development of their bioapplications, concerns about the biosafety of quantum dots (QDs) have increasingly attracted intensive attention. This study examines the toxic effect and subcellular location of cadmium telluride (CdTe) QDs with different sizes against yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The innovative approach is based on the combination of microcalorimetric, spectroscopic, electrochemical, and microscopic methods, which allows analysis of the toxic effect of CdTe QDs on S. cerevisiae and its mechanism. According to the values of the half inhibitory concentration (IC(50)), CdTe QDs exhibit marked cytotoxicity in yeast cells at concentrations as low as 80.81 nmol L(-1) for green-emitting CdTe QDs and 17.07 nmol L(-1) for orange-emitting CdTe QDs. QD-induced cell death is characterized by cell wall breakage and cytoplasm blebbing. These findings suggest that QDs with sizes ranging from 4.1 to 5.8 nm can be internalized into yeast cells, which then leads to QD-induced cytotoxicity. These studies provide valuable information for the design and development of aqueous QDs for biological applications.
