Among the most used inorganic nanomaterials,
silica nanoparticles (NPs) have been considered as either
drug carriers or
contrast agents. Though the distribution of
silica NPs via the circulation appears highly probable, to date, there are few studies investigating the vascular effects of
silica NPs in vivo. This study was designed specifically to investigate whether
silica NPs with
intravenous injection could lead to
blood coagulation disorder and endothelium dysfunction in vivo. The time-course effect of
silica NPs on blood coagulation, oxidative stress and the expression of soluble
E-selectin (sE-
selectin) and
tissue factor (TF) in the plasma of Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were presented. Our data showed that a shortened prothrombin time (PT) was observed on 1 day after exposure to
silica NPs, while activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) was not affected at any time-points. After the post-injection respectively, the levels of
fibrinogen (Fbg) were increased by
silica NPs from 1 day to 3 days, and returned to normal value on the 7th day. Meanwhile, a sustained increase in the levels of TF and sE-
selectin was elicited by
silica NPs during 7 days after the injection. In addition, after 7 days of intravenously injection of
silica NPs, the activities of
superoxide dismutase (SOD) and
glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) in the plasma of SD rats were decreased significantly, whereas the level of
malondialdehyde (MDA) was not changed obviously. In conclusion, intravenously administration of
silica NPs could shorten PT but not APTT increase TF and sE-
selectin release and reduce GSH-px and SOD activity in the plasma of SD rats, indicating exposure to
silica NPs could early activate coagulation cascade via the extrinsic pathway, and may be dependent on endothelium dysfunction and oxidative stress.