Chirality of Glutathione Surface Coating Affects the Cytotoxicity of Quantum Dots

Choose your poison: Chiral CdTe quantum dots (QDs) coated with L- or D-glutathione (GSH) stabilizers exhibit differences in cytotoxicity although they have identical composition and size. D-GSH-QDs are less cytotoxic than L-GSH-QDs. The ability of QDs to induce cell death is correlated with their ability to induce autophagy, which is chirality-dependent (see picture).