量子点具有多种生物医学应用，从构建医学成像等生物基础设施到推进药物研究。然而，由于基于重金属的量子点的潜在毒性，人们对人类健康产生了担忧。因此，量子点的研究主要集中在氧化应激、细胞死亡和其他更广泛的身体毒性上。本研究研究了小鼠胚胎干细胞（mESC）和小鼠成体干细胞（mASC）对非金属材料制成的氮掺杂碳量子点（NCQD）的毒性和细胞反应。将细胞暴露于 NCQD，我们利用基于荧光泛素化的细胞系统来验证 NCQD 是否诱导细胞毒性。此外，我们利用配备 Oct4 增强子-GFP 报告系统的胚胎干细胞验证了 NCQD 的分化诱导作用。通过分析 Crebzf、Chop 和 ATF6 等基因表达，我们还观察到 NCQD 强烈引发内质网 (ER) 应激。我们证实 NCQD 会诱导细胞毒性和异常分化。有趣的是，我们还证实低浓度的 NCQD 会刺激 mESC 和 mASC 的细胞增殖。总之，NCQD 以浓度依赖性方式调节细胞死亡、增殖和分化。 NCQD 的不加选择的生物学应用有可能通过影响正常细胞分裂而导致癌症发展，或者通过影响妊娠期间的胚胎发育而无法诱导正常分化。因此，我们建议 NCQD 未来的生物医学应用需要全面且多样化的生物学研究。© 2024 作者。由 Informa UK Limited 出版，以 Taylor 名义进行交易

Quantum dots have diverse biomedical applications, from constructing biological infrastructures like medical imaging to advancing pharmaceutical research. However, concerns about human health arise due to the toxic potential of quantum dots based on heavy metals. Therefore, research on quantum dots has predominantly focused on oxidative stress, cell death, and other broader bodily toxicities. This study investigated the toxicity and cellular responses of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and mouse adult stem cells (mASCs) to nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (NCQDs) made of non-metallic materials. Cells were exposed to NCQDs, and we utilized a fluorescent ubiquitination-based cell system to verify whether NCQDs induce cytotoxicity. Furthermore, we validated the differentiation-inducing impact of NCQDs by utilizing embryonic stem cells equipped with the Oct4 enhancer-GFP reporter system. By analyzing gene expression including Crebzf, Chop, and ATF6, we also observed that NCQDs robustly elicited endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. We confirmed that NCQDs induced cytotoxicity and abnormal differentiation. Interestingly, we also confirmed that low concentrations of NCQDs stimulated cell proliferation in both mESCs and mASCs. In conclusion, NCQDs modulate cell death, proliferation, and differentiation in a concentration-dependent manner. Indiscriminate biological applications of NCQDs have the potential to cause cancer development by affecting normal cell division or to fail to induce normal differentiation by affecting embryonic development during pregnancy. Therefore, we propose that future biomedical applications of NCQDs necessitate comprehensive and diverse biological studies.© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.