Blood Coagulation System and Carbon-Based Nanoengineering for Biomedical Application

Carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs) acquired unique physiochemical properties, due to which they were examined for various biomedical applications such as bio-imaging, bio-sensing, targeted drug delivery, etc. CBNs first experience the complex blood system during their intravenous administration for controlled delivery of drugs. In blood, CBNs triggers a cascade of events such as biocorona formation, complement activation, hemolysis, and thrombosis. During thrombosis, CBNs interact with blood coagulation system. Coagulation systems include platelets and clotting factors. The current book chapter is highlighting the impact of different CBNs on blood coagulation system with brief description of the various allotropes of carbon nanomaterials along with coagulation cascade mechanism. Encounter of CBNs with platelets induces its activation, aggregation, and adhesion properties whereas while interacting with coagulation cascade they mostly affect the intrinsic pathway rather than extrinsic pathways of coagulation. CBNs mediated blood coagulation system activation depends on its shape, size, and composition, which can be characterized using various sophisticated techniques such as flow cytometry, electron microscopy as well as platelet aggregometer.