Toxicity in Cadmium Containing Quantum Dots

Abstract

Quantum dots are nanoscale semiconductors made from materials such as cadmium selenide, cadmium sulphide, indium arsenide or zinc sulphide and are extensively used in electronics, optoelectronics and biomedical sciences. Manipulation of these Quantum Dots is opening a world of creative possibilities and the benefits are expected to have substantial impact on almost all industries and areas of society such as medicine, plastic, energy, electronics and aerospace etc. Although Quantum Dots offer potentiality invaluable societal benefits such as drug targeting and biomedical imaging but at the same time these may also pose risks to human health and environment under certain conditions as reviewed literature suggests. In this paper we have reviewed and discussed the potential toxicity of cadmium containing Quantum Dots which depends upon multiple physicochemical as well as on environmental factors.