Quantum dot nanoparticles affect the reproductive system of Caenorhabditis elegans

Quantum dots (QDs) are an increasingly important class of nanoparticle, but little ecotoxicological data for QDs has been published to date. The effects of mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA)‐capped QDs (QDs‐MSA) and equivalent concentrations of cadmium (Cd) from cadmium chloride on growth and reproduction of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (Rhabditidae) were assessed in laboratory experiments. Growth from larvae to adults of C. elegans was unaffected by exposure to 1 µM fluorescent QDs‐MSA, but adults produced more embryos and laid them prematurely. Furthermore, C. elegans exposed to QDs‐MSA (1 µM) showed a high percentage of embryo mortality (19.2 ± 0.5, p