Hemolytic Activity of Nanoparticles as a Marker of Their Hemocompatibility

Saul Yedgar, Gregory Barshtein*, Alexander Gural

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

The potential use of nanomaterials in medicine offers opportunities for novel therapeutic approaches to treating complex disorders. For that reason, a new branch of science, named nanotoxicology, which aims to study the dangerous effects of nanomaterials on human health and on the environment, has recently emerged. However, the toxicity and risk associated with nanomaterials are unclear or not completely understood. The development of an adequate experimental strategy for assessing the toxicity of nanomaterials may include a rapid/express method that will reliably, quickly, and cheaply make an initial assessment. One possibility is the characterization of the hemocompatibility of nanomaterials, which includes their hemolytic activity as a marker. In this review, we consider various factors affecting the hemolytic activity of nanomaterials and draw the reader’s attention to the fact that the formation of a protein corona around a nanoparticle can significantly change its interaction with the red cell. This leads us to suggest that the nanomaterial hemolytic activity in the buffer does not reflect the situation in the blood plasma. As a recommendation, we propose studying the hemocompatibility of nanomaterials under more physiologically relevant conditions, in the presence of plasma proteins in the medium and under mechanical stress.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2091
JournalMicromachines
Volume13
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - 27 Nov 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.

Keywords

  • hemocompatibility
  • hemolytic activity
  • nanomaterials
  • nanoparticles
  • nanotoxicity
  • red blood cells

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