University of Delaware
Hydrogels Photo by Kathy Atkinson,
A newly developed injectable material can prevent blood loss from serious internal injuries, according to research published in ACS Nano.
This biodegradable hydrogel is embedded with silicate nanoplatelets that aid in coagulation.
Once injected, the material locks into place at the site of the injury and decreases clotting time.
In experiments, the hydrogel decreased clotting time by 77% in vitro and promoted life-saving hemostasis in vivo.
Though it’s still in early testing, the researchers envision the material being preloaded into syringes that soldiers can carry with them into combat situations.
If a soldier experiences a penetrating, incompressible injury, he or she could inject the hydrogel into the wound site, where it would trigger rapid coagulation and, ideally, provide enough time to get to a medical facility for treatment.
“The time to get to a medical facility can take a half hour to an hour, and this hour is crucial; it can decide life and death,” said study author Akhilesh Gaharwar, PhD, of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
“Our material’s combination of injectability, rapid mechanical recovery, physiological stability, and the ability to promote coagulation result in a hemostat for treating incompressible wounds in out-of-hospital, emergency situations.”
Unlike some injectable solutions, which pose the risk of flowing to other parts of the body and forming unintended and potentially harmful clots, the material designed by Dr Gaharwar and his colleagues solidifies at the site of the wound and begins promoting coagulation in the targeted area.
To engineer the material, the researchers inserted 2-dimensional synthetic silicate nanoplatelets into hydrogels. The structure, composition, and arrangement of the nanoplatelets result in both positive and negative charges on each particle.
These charges cause the platelets to interact with the hydrogel in a unique way. The interaction causes the gel to temporarily undergo a change in its viscosity when mechanical force is applied. This allows the hydrogel to be injected and regain its shape once inside the body.
In addition to changing the mechanical properties of the hydrogel, these disc-shaped nanoplatelets interact with blood to promote clotting.
Animal models showed clot formation occurring in about 1 minute as opposed to 5 minutes without the presence of these nanoparticles. Animal models also demonstrated the formation of life-saving clots with the hydrogel.
“These 2D, silicate nanoparticles are unprecedented in the biomedical field,” Dr Gaharwar said. “And their use promises to lead to both conceptual and therapeutic advances in the important and emerging field of tissue engineering, drug delivery, cancer therapies, and immune engineering.”
The researchers plan to further enhance the biomaterial so it can initiate regeneration of damaged tissues through the formation of new blood vessels. The result could be a 2-pronged wound treatment—one that not only aids in damage control but also assists the body’s natural healing process.
