Abstract

Two-dimensional nanomaterial Ti3C2Tx is a novel biomaterial used for medical apparatus. For its application, biosafety serves as a prerequisite for their use in vivo. So far, no research has systematically reported how Ti3C2Tx interacts with various components in the blood. In this work, we evaluated the hemocompatibility of Ti3C2Tx nanosheets which we prepared by HF etching. Effects of the concentration and size of Ti3C2Tx on the morphology and hemolysis rate of human red blood cells (RBCs), the structure and conformation of plasma proteins, the complement activation, as well as in vitro blood coagulation were studied. In general, Ti3C2Tx takes on good blood compatibility, but in the case of high concentration (>30 μg ml−1) and 'small size' (about 100 nm), it led to the rupture of RBCs membrane and a higher rate of hemolysis. Meanwhile, platelets and complement were inclined to be activated with the increased concentration, accompanying the changed configuration of plasma proteins dependent on concentration. Surprisingly, the presence of Ti3C2Tx did not significantly disrupt the coagulation. In vitro cell culture, the results prove that when the Ti3C2Tx concentration is as high as 60 μg ml−1 and still has good biological safety. By establishing a fuzzy mathematical model, it was proved that the hemocompatibility of Ti3C2Tx is more concentration-dependent than size-dependent, and the hemolysis rate is the most sensitive to the size and concentration of the Ti3C2Tx. These findings provide insight into the potential use of Ti3C2Tx as biofriendly nanocontainers for biomaterials in vivo.