Bioconcentration of ionic cadmium and cadmium selenide quantum dots in zebrafish larvae

•Wide characterization and properties definition of quantum dots.•Monitoring of exposition conditions all throughout the bioconcentration experiment.•Shorter and cheaper protocol for bioconcentration using zebrafish larvae instead adult fishes.•Comparison of BCFs of ionic Cd and quantum dots.

The concern related to the use of nanomaterials is growing nowadays, especially the risk associated with their emission or exposure. One type of nanomaterials that has attracted much attention is quantum dots (QDs). QDs incorporation in consumer goods increases the probability of their entering in the environment and then into living organisms and human. In order to evaluate their potential to be bioconcentrated, zebrafish larvae have been exposed to SeCd/ZnS QDs, after performing an exhaustive characterization of these nanoparticles under the assay conditions. These data were compared with those obtained when zebrafish larvae were exposed to ionic cadmium. Finally, distribution of ionic Cd and QDs in exposed zebrafish larvae have been evaluated by Laser Ablation ICP-MS.