Genome-wide analysis of the toxic effect of hydroxyl-modified Graphene quantum dots (GQD) on normal human esophageal epithelial cells

The objective was to investigate the toxic effect of hydroxyl-modified Graphene quantum dots (GQD) on normal human esophageal epithelial cells at gene expression level. Gene expression profilings between GQD and vehicle treated cells were compared. HET-1A cells were seeded in 6-cm dishes and treated with 50 μg/mL hydroxyl-modified Graphene quantum dots (GQD) and equivalent volume of vehicle in triplicate. After 24 hours of incubation, cells were harvested. Total RNA were extracted and subjected to gene expression profiling assays.