title: Organ distribution of quantum dots after intraperitoneal administration, with special reference to area-specific distribution in the brain.
abstract: Quantum dots (QDs) are well known for their potential application in biosensing, ex vivo live-cell imaging and in vivo animal targeting. The brain is a challenging organ for drug delivery, because the blood brain barrier (BBB) functions as a gatekeeper guarding the body from exogenous substances. Here, we evaluated the distribution of bioconjugated QDs, i.e., captopril-conjugated QDs (QDs-cap) following intraperitoneal injection into male ICR mice as a model system for determining the tissue localization of QDs, employing ICP-MS and confocal microscopy coupled with spectrometric analysis. We have demonstrated that intraperitoneally administered QDs-cap were delivered via systemic blood circulation into liver, spleen, kidney and brain at 6 h after injection. QDs-cap were located predominantly inside the blood vessels in the liver, kidney and brain, but a few were distributed in the parenchyma, especially noteworthy in the brain. Careful studies on acute as well as chronic toxicity of QDs in the brain are required prior to clinical application to humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Applied Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Shingo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yaoi
authors.forename: Takenori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tozawa
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yasui
authors.forename: Narisato
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kanamura
authors.forename: Akiyoshi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hoshino
authors.forename: Noriyoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Manabe
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fushiki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002216:Captopril / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D007797:Laminin; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D045663:Quantum Dots; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D007797:Laminin; D002216:Captopril