Hun-Kuk Park
Kyung Hee University, Korea
Title: Toxic Evaluation of Graphene Quantum Dots with Hemorheological Measurements
Biography
Biography: Hun-Kuk Park
Abstract
Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are becoming a novel material for opto-electronics, energy, environmental, and biomedical applications due to its properties such as stable photoluminescence, chemical stability and pronounced quantum confinement effect, and low toxicity. We investigated the toxic effect of GQDs on rheological characteristics of human red blood cells (RBCs), including hemolysis, deformability, aggregation, and morphological changes. Red blood cells were exposed to GQDs at a range of concentrations (25, 100, 250, 500 µg/ml) and incubation times (0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 h). Rheological characteristics were measured using microfluidic-laser diffractometry and aggregometry. Overall, at a concentration greater than 250 μg/ml, the hemolysis rate of RBCs was shown to be more than 10%. Elongation index (EI) values were insignificant in the RBCs exposed to GQDs at a concentration of less than 250 μg/ml. Aggregation index (AI) values decreased at a concentration of 250 μg/ml of GQDs. Therefore, the above results suggest that the safe concentration of GQDs for toxicity, in this study, might be considered less than 250 μg/ml for in vitro or in vivo biological applications.