Journal of Nanomedicine & Nanotechnology

Toxic Evaluation of Graphene Quantum Dots with Hemorheological Measurements

10^th International Conference on Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology in Health Care

July 25-27, 2016 Bangkok, Thailand

Hun-Kuk Park and Jeongho Kim

Kyung Hee University, Korea

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nanomed Nanotechnol

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.

Biography :

Hun-Kuk Park was born on September 18, 1957, in Korea. He received the B.M. and M.D. degrees in School of Medicine from the Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, in 1982. He received the Ph.D. Degree in Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University and University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, USA, in 1993. He worked as a professor in the department of neurosurgery from 1994 to 2003 as well as in the department of physiology from 1997 to 2003 at the Wayne State University, Michigan, USA. He joined the faculty of School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Korea, in 2003. He published more than 210 papers in the high impact international journals. He has served as a senior vice president of the Korean society of medical biological and engineering, an editorial board editor of the Korean society for precision engineering, and several committee members.

Email: sigmoidus@khu.ac.kr