New insights into the safety assessment of quantum dots: potential release pathways, environmental transformations, and health risks

Abstract

Quantum dots (QDs), also known as “artificial atoms”, are a new class of engineering nanoparticles. They are semiconductor nanocrystals composed of a few atoms and have good optical, electrical, electrochemical, and catalytic properties. Due to their excellent properties, QDs have been used in biological imaging, electronic devices, solar cells, electrochemical sensing, and other fields. Although QDs have valuable social benefits, a growing number of QDs are being released into the environment in different ways, migrating and transforming in the environment, and interacting with biota, which may pose risks to the environment and human health. Therefore, it is extremely significant to understand the behaviors, potential release pathways, sink, final fates, and action mechanism of QDs under various environmental conditions. This review paper introduces the properties and applications of QDs, summarizes the potential release pathways, behaviors, and final fate of QDs in the environment, and expounds on the impact of different QDs on the environment and human beings, to provide a reference for scientists engaged in QDs research to better understand the challenges of QDs in the natural environment and their impact on human health.