GO was synthesized using the selleck inhibitor Hummers method with minor revisions as previously described [18]. The size of GO was 300 to 1,000 nm, and the thickness was approximately 1 nm [18]. GO suspension was stable for at least 1 month. GO suspension

was diluted in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for the following experiments. Animal experiments Regarding the GO administration in vivo, 6-week-old BALB/C male mice were intraperitoneally injected with 200 μl GO suspension at a concentration of 1 mg/ml (10 mg/kg body weight) every 3 days for 3 weeks. Control mice received PBS only. Twenty four h after the final administration, blood was collected via the heart, and complete

blood count (CBC) analysis was carried out using a whole blood analyzer at Peking University Health Center. After the mice were sacrificed, organs were collected. Characterization of cell Adriamycin nmr population in organs by fluorescence-activated cell sorting After perfusion with saline, livers were perfused with 0.05% collagenase and then minced and resuspended in 0.05 g/ml collagenase check details type IV (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) in Hank’s balanced salt buffer [18]. The samples were then incubated in the solution without either cadmium or magnesium for enzymatic digestion at 37°C for 30 min. The digested samples were passed through 70 μm filters. The cells were resuspended in PBS and then incubated with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated anti-F4/80 mAb (eBioscience Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) for the selection of macrophage population. Phycoerythrin (PE)-conjugated anti-Ter119 mAb (BD Pharmingen, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) was applied to cell suspension for erythroid cell selection. After washing, the cells were analyzed on a fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) Calibur™

(BD Biosciences, San Jose, CA, USA). Splenocytes were similarly prepared from the spleen for FACS analysis. Cell culture Tolmetin and treatment Mouse J774A.1 (purchased from the Shanghai Cell Bank of Type Culture Collection of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China) were cultured in DMEM (Hyclone, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA), supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Gibco, Carlsbad, CA, USA) and 100 U/ml penicillin/streptomycin (Gibco). E14.5 fetal liver cells were isolated and cultured as described [19]. Determination of cadmium mass Regarding the assessment of intracellular cadmium mass, J774A.1 cells cultured in 10-cm plates were exposed to QDs for 24 h. Thereafter, the cells were collected and washed with PBS for three times, and cells were digested with HNO3 and H2O2 (3:2, v/v) by microwave-assisted extraction.