As a result, there is considerable interest in finding readily available, simple-to-use and inexpensive methods to detect cyanide.10 Two recent studies by Sanz-Medel et al. have used water-soluble QDs as cyanide probes.7h,i Studies carried out on fire survivors and victims have shown blood cyanide levels of 21.6 36.4 mM in the survivors, and 116.4 89.6 mM in the victims.