A pioneering study to gauge the toxicity of quantum dots inprimates has found the tiny crystals to be safe over a one-yearperiod, a hopeful outcome for doctors and scientists seeking newways to battle diseases like cancer through nanomedicine. In the study, scientists found that four rhesus monkeys injectedwith cadmium-selenide quantum dots remained in normal health over90 days. Blood and biochemical markers stayed in typical ranges,and major organs developed no abnormalities. The animals didn'tlose weight. Two monkeys observed for an additional year also showed no signs ofillness. Quantum dots are tiny luminescent crystals that glow brightly indifferent colors. Medical researchers are eyeing the crystals foruse in image-guided surgery, light-activated therapies andsensitive diagnostic tests. Cadmium selenide quantum dots are among the most studied, withpotential applications not only in medicine, but as components ofsolar cells, quantum computers, light-emitting diodes and more. The new toxicity study - completed by the University at Buffalo,the Chinese PLA General Hospital, China's ChangChun University ofScience and Technology, and Singapore's Nanyang TechnologicalUniversity - begins to address the concern of health professionalswho worry that quantum dots may be dangerous to humans. The authors caution, however, that more research is needed todetermine the nanocrystals' long-term effects in primates; most ofthe potentially toxic cadmium from the quantum dots stayed in theliver, spleen and kidneys of the animals studied over the 90-dayperiod. "This is the first study that uses primates as animal models for invivo studies with quantum dots," said paper coauthor Paras Prasad,UB professor of chemistry and medicine, and executive director ofUB's Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics (ILPB). "So far, such toxicity studies have focused only on mice and rats,but humans are very different from mice. More studies using animalmodels that are closer to humans are necessary." The cadmium build-up, in particular, is a serious concern thatwarrants further investigation, said Ken-Tye Yong, a NanyangTechnological University assistant professor who began working withPrasad on the study as a postdoctoral researcher at UB. Because of that concern, the best in-vivo applications forcadmium-selenide quantum dots in medicine may be the ones that usethe crystals in a limited capacity, said Mark Swihart, a thirdcoauthor and a UB professor of chemical and biological engineering.Image-guided surgery, which could involve a single dose of quantumdots to identify a tumor or other target area, falls into thiscategory. The new toxicity study was supported by the John R. OisheiFoundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, SingaporeMinistry of Education, Nanyang Technological University, theBeijing Natural Science Foundation and the National Natural ScienceFoundation of China. The study's lead authors were Ling Ye ofChinese PLA General Hospital and Yong of Nanyang TechnologicalUniversity, who completed his PhD in chemical and biologicalengineering at UB in 2006. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as HD Home Cinema Projectors Manufacturer , 3D Home Theater Projectors for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits LED Home Theater Projector.
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