Nanotechnology is being increasingly utilised in medicine as diagnostics and for drug\ndelivery and targeting. The small size and high surface area of nanoparticles (NPs), desirable\nproperties that allow them to cross biological barriers, also offer potential for interaction with other\ncells and blood constituents, presenting possible safety risks. While NPs investigated are\npredominantly based on the biodegradable, biocompatible, and FDA approved\npoly-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) polymers, pro-aggregatory and antiplatelet effects have been\nreported for certain NPs. The potential for toxicity of PLGA based NPs remains to be examined.\nThe aims of this study were to determine the impact of size-selected PLGA-PEG\n(PLGA-polyethylene glycol) NPs on platelet activation and aggregation. PLGA-PEG NPs of three\naverage sizes of 112, 348, and 576 nm were formulated and their effect at concentrations of 0.0-2.2\nmg/mL on the activation and aggregation of washed human platelets (WP) was examined. The\nresults of this study show, for the first time, NPs of all sizes associated with the surface of platelets,\nwith >50% binding, leading to possible internalisation. The NP-platelet interaction, however, did\nnot lead to platelet aggregation nor inhibited aggregation of platelets induced by thrombin. The\noutcome of this study is promising, suggesting that these NPs could be potential carriers for\ntargeted drug delivery to platelets.
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