Assessment of the Toxicity of Quantum Dots through Biliometric Analysis.

Lishi Zhong,Yimeng Li,Xiaobing Shen,Lili Zhang,Lu Kong,Xue Liang,Tianshu Wu

doi:10.3390/ijerph18115768

Lishi Zhong, Yimeng Li + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115768

Copy DOI

Abstract

Along with the rapid development of nanotechnology, the biosafety of quantum dots (QDs), a widely used kind of nanoparticles, has grabbed the attentions of researchers, because QDs have excellent and unique optical properties that other commonly used nanoparticles, like walled carbon nanotubes, do not have. The understanding of the toxicity of QDs is an important premise for their application in wider fields, including biology and medicine. This study sought to analyze scientific publications on the toxicity of QDs and to construct a bibliometric model for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of these publications over the past decade, which visually presented the status quo and future development trend on the toxicological study of QDs. A search for data using the triple blind method revealed that, as of 31 December 2018, there were 5269 papers published on the toxicity of QDs. RSC ADVANCES (5-year IF, 3.096) ranked first in the number of publications. China had the largest number of publications (2233) and the highest H-index (119), but the United States was still the leading country with regards to the quality of the research. LIU Y (106 publications) published the most papers, while Hardman R (304 co-citations) had the most co-citations. The keyword “walled carbon nanotube” ranked first in the research frontier. The findings not only determine a development trend of the toxicological study of QDs, but also identify further research directions in this field.

Highlights

Emerging nanotechnology can greatly improve the current medical status and provide targeted medical diagnosis and treatment, which could help solve many medical problems [1]
By the completion of our article, the total number of publications on Quantum dots (QDs) toxicity research in 2019 was 1072, which is basically consistent with our predictions using the prediction model curve
The results revealed that CdTe/CdS/ZnS QDs with core-shell-shell structure had the least cytotoxicity, suggesting that the modification of the shell could effectively improve the stability and biocompatibility of QDs as well as inhibit the release of metal ions inside the core

Summary

Introduction

Emerging nanotechnology can greatly improve the current medical status and provide targeted medical diagnosis and treatment, which could help solve many medical problems [1]. As a new concept proposed in the 1990s, Quantum dots (QDs) are a kind of commonly used nanomaterials, called nanocrystals. A QD is a quasi-zero-dimensional nanomaterial with three dimensions less than 10 nm [2]. It is a nanocrystal composed of III-V or II-VI elements and comprises a semiconductor material core, along with an outer shell that increases the stability and/or biocompatibility of the core [3]. Various QDs exhibit different optical characteristics due to disparities in geometric shapes, quantum sealing effects of electrons and holes and materials, etc. Various QDs exhibit different optical characteristics due to disparities in geometric shapes, quantum sealing effects of electrons and holes and materials, etc. [4]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion