Genotoxic effects of CdS quantum dots and Ag2S nanoparticles in fish cell lines (RTG-2)

Abstract The increasing use of nanotechnologies will lead to significant releases of engineered nanoparticles into the aquatic environment, where their impact is still poorly characterized. In the present paper, the genotoxic and cytotoxic properties of CdS quantum dots (QDs) and silver sulphide (Ag 2 S) coated with methyl polyethylene glycol (M-PEG) were investigated in a rainbow trout cell line (RTG-2). The results showed that CdS QDs were highly cytotoxic at high concentrations (10 and 50 μg/ml), and exhibited a concentration-dependent genotoxicity in the sub-toxic range (0.01–1 μg/ml) after 24 h exposure. Ag 2 S showed neither genotoxic nor cytotoxic effects.