Small size fullerenol nanoparticles inhibit thrombosis and blood coagulation through inhibiting activities of thrombin and FXa

Thrombus is one of main causes of death in the world and also a vital trouble of biomaterials application in vivo. Recently, effect of fullerenol nanomaterials on anticoagulation was found in our research through extension of bleeding times in treated Sprague-Dawley rats via intravenous injection. Inhibiting of fullerenols on thrombosis was ascertained further by thromboembolism model. Effects of fullerenols on intrinsic and extrinsic pathway were distinct in prolonging activated partial thromboplastin time and prothrombin time, which supported that fullerenols induced defects in both pathways. Inhibited activities of activated coagulation factor X (FXa) and thrombin were verified by experiments in vitro and AutoDock Vina. The results suggest that fullerenols depending on small size and certainly surface property occupied the active domain of FXa and thrombin to block their activity; further, thrombosis was inhibited. This putative mechanism offers an insight into how fullerenol NPs were utilized further in biomedical applications.