Abstract
The skin is the largest organ of the body and is a potential route of exposure to sunscreens and cosmetics containing nanoparticles; however, the permeability of the skin to these nanoparticles is currently unknown. In this paper, we studied the transdermal delivery capacity through mouse skin of water-soluble CdSeS quantum dots (QDs) and the deposition of these QDs in the body. QD solution was coated onto the dorsal hairless skin of male ICR mice. Fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to observe the distribution of QDs in the skin and organs, and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to measure the 111Cd content to indicate the concentration of QDs in plasma and organs. Experimental results indicate that QDs can penetrate into the dermal layer and are limited to the uppermost stratum corneum layers and the hair follicles. Through blood circulation, QDs deposit mostly in liver and kidney and are difficult to clear. 111Cd concentration was greater than 14 ng g−1 in kidney after 120 h after 0.32 nmol QDs was applied to a mouse. These results suggest that QDs have in vivo transdermal delivery capacity through mouse skin and are harmful to the liver and kidney.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Gao X H, Cui Y Y, Levenson R M, et al. In vivo cancer targeting and imaging with semiconductor quantum dots. Nat Biotechnol, 2004, 22: 969–976
Serpone N, Emeline A V. Modelling heterogeneous photocatalysis by metal-oxide nanostructured semiconductor and insulator materials: factors that affect the activity and selectivity of photocatalysts. Res Chem Intermed, 2005, 31: 391–432
Chen X, Schluesener H J. Nanosliver: a nanoproduct in medical application. Toxicol Lett, 2008, 176: 1–12
Hardman R. A toxicologic review of quantum dots: toxicity depends on physicochemical and environmental factors. Environ Health, 2006, 114: 165–170
Michalet X, Pinaud F F, Bentolila L A, et al. Quantum dots for live cells, in vivo imaging, and diagnostics. Science, 2005, 307: 538–544
Cho S J, Maysinger D, Jain M, et al. Long-term exposure to CdTe quantum dots causes functional impairments in live cells. Langmuir, 2007, 23: 1974–1980
Hoshino A, Fujioka K, Oku T, et al. Physicochemical properties and cellular toxicity of nanocrystal quantum dots depend on their surface modification. Nano Lett, 2004, 4: 2163–2169
Kirchner C, Liedl T, Kudera S, et al. Cytotoxicity of colloidal CdSe and CdSe/ZnS nanoparticles. Nano Lett, 2005, 5: 331–338
Leshuai W Z, William W Y, Vicki L C, et al. Biological interactions of quantum dot nanoparticles in skin and in human epidermal keratinocytes. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol, 2008, 228: 200–211
Luke J M, Gunter O, Alice P P, et al. In vivo skin penetration of quantum dot nanoparticles in the murine model: the effect of UVR. Nano Lett, 2008, 8: 2779–2787
Upadhyay P. Enhanced transdermal-immunization with diptheria-toxoid using local hyperthermia. Vaccine, 2006, 24: 5593–5598
Mosmann T. Rapid colorimetric assay for cellular growth and survival: application to proliferation and cytotoxicity assays. J Immunol Methods, 1983, 65: 55–63
Chu M Q, Wu Q, Wang J, et al. In vitro and in vivo transdermal delivery capacity of quantum dots through mouse skin. Nanotechnology, 2007, 18: 455103–455108
Alvarez-Roman R, Naik A, Kalia Y N, et al. Skin penetration and distribution of polymeric nanoparticles. J Contr Release, 2004, 99: 53–62
Kohli A K, Alpar H O. Potential use of nanoparticles for transcutaneous vaccine delivery: effect of particle size and charge. Int J Pharm, 2004, 275: 13–17
Chen Z, Chen H, Meng H, et al. Bio-distribution and metabolic paths of silica coated CdSeS quantum dots. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol, 2008, 230: 364–371
Lademann J, Weigmann H, Rickmeyer C, et al. Penetration of titanium dioxide microparticles in a sunscreen formulation into the horny layer and the follicular orifice. Skin Pharmacol Appl Skin Physiol, 1999, 12: 247–256
Baroli B, Ennas M G, Loffredo F, et al. Penetration of metallic nanoparticles in human full-thickness skin. J Invest Dermatol, 2007, 127: 1701–1712
Nemmar A, Hoet P H M, Vanqtdckeuborne B, et al. Passage of inhaled particles into the blood circulation in humans. Circulation, 2002, 105: 411–414
Oberdörster E. Manufactured nanomaterials (fullerenes, C60) induce oxidative stress in the brain of juvenile largemouth bass. Environ Health Persp, 2004, 112: 1058–1062
Oberdörster G, Sharp Z, Atudorei V, et al. Translocation of inhaled ultrafine particles to the brain. Inhalat Toxicol, 2004, 16: 437–445
Fischer H C, Liu L, Pang K S, et al. Pharmacokinetics of nanoscale quantum dots: in vivo distribution, sequestration, and clearance in the rat. Adv Funct Mater, 2006, 16: 1299–1305
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
About this article
Cite this article
Tang, L., Zhang, C., Song, G. et al. In vivo skin penetration and metabolic path of quantum dots. Sci. China Life Sci. 56, 181–188 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-012-4404-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-012-4404-x