Collection of the current knowledge (in vitro and in vivo studies) related to the blood compatibility of nanomedicines and nanomaterials with a potential use in biomedical applications. Different types of nanomedicines were analyzed for their toxicity to the blood system, and the role of their physicochemical properties was further elucidated. An extensive literature review was carried out using Scopus, GoPubMed and Web of Science databases to identify and collect peer-reviewed scientific articles reporting blood toxicological effects of various types of nanomaterials with potential use in the biomedical field and nanomedicine. The bibliographic search covered publications until April 2017.
In total, 146 papers of interest analyzing hematology, thrombosis, and complement activation in vivo were considered. In addition, 515 publications evaluating hematology, coagulation, platelets, and complement activation in vitro have been identified as relevant for our investigation.
From the screened publications for in vivo studies, 46 publications reported blood toxicities and contained information regarding the contribution of NPs physicochemical properties on the reported blood incompatibilities. For in vitro data, 153 publications reported blood toxicities and contained information regarding the contribution of each NP property on the reported toxicities.
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (2026): Blood compatibility of nanomedicines. [Dataset] doi: 10.2905/JRC.KK7EEA0 PID: http://data.europa.eu/89h/01fb94bd-7639-4ce8-a360-409dbc05b74e
biomedical applicationblood compatibilitynanomaterialnanomedicine
Final data set of 662 articles: 147 articles for in vivo and 515 for in vitro studies. Information regarding the materials tested, the type of blood incompatibility and the corresponding reference to the articles used for the study are listed. Information about the blood incompatibilities reported (e.g., hematology) the effect observed (e.g., hemolysis), the type of nanoparticle causing it (e.g., inorganic
nanoparticles) and where possible, the nanoparticles physicochemical properties was extracted from each article. A single publication with information on more than one physicochemical property would be counted more than once.
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As nanomedicines have the potential to address many currently unmet medical needs, the early identification of regulatory requirements that could hamper a smooth translation of nanomedicines from the laboratory environment to clinical applications is of utmost importance. The blood system is especially relevant as many nanomedicinal products that are currently under development are designed for intravenous administration and cells of the blood system will be among the first biological systems exposed to the injected nanomedicine. This review collects and summarizes the current knowledge related to the blood compatibility of nanomedicines and nanomaterials with a potential use in biomedical applications. Different types of nanomedicines were analyzed for their toxicity to the blood system, and the role of their physicochemical properties was further elucidated. Trends were identified related to: (a) the nature of the most frequently occurring blood incompatibilities such as thrombogenicity and complement activation, (b) the contribution of physicochemical properties to these blood incompatibilities, and (c) the similarities between data retrieved from in vivo and in vitro studies. Finally, we provide an overview of available standards that allow evaluating the compatibility of a material with the blood system.
