Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanomaterials (such as CdS nanodots or nanorods) are widely used in optical, electronic, and biological applications. Large-scale production and use of these materials will likely result in accidental and incidental releases, which raise concerns about their potential environmental and human-health impacts. Most studies on toxicity of Cd-containing nanomaterials have focused on nanodots, and the relative toxicity of Cd containing nanorods is not well understood. Here, we compared genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of CdS nanorods (30-50nm diameter, 500-1100 nm length) and cubic CdS nanodots (3-5 nm) in mice by examining total cadmium accumulation in organs, acute toxicity, DNA damage, spermatozoon viability and abnormality, kidney and liver damage, and oxidative stress. Compared with (smaller) nanodots, nanorods resulted in relatively low bioaccumulation, acute toxicity, and damage to spermatozoa and the tested organs. Differences in toxicity between CdS nanodots and nanorods could not be fully explained by differences in their metal ion (Cd2 + ) release patterns, based on control tests with mice gavaged with dissolved CdCl2 at equivalent concentrations. This underscores that toxicity of metallic nanomaterials could not be solely predicted based either on their elemental composition or on the amount of ions released before receptor intake. Particle morphology (including size) may also need to be considered.
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