Nanoparticles Act Like Platelets to Stop Bleeding
No more relying on donor platelets?
Article via LabRoots
Researchers have created nanoparticles that mimic the effects of blood platelets to stop heavy bleeding.
Biomedical engineer and research lead, Anirban Sen Gupta, said: “This is the next step in artificial-platelet technology, and it’s truly a critical advance.” The team deployed their nanotechnology innovation to create a wound ‘plug’ that quickly stemmed bleeding after a traumatic injury. On top of that, the nanoparticles supported the stabilization of the clot, a key molecular event required to minimize blood loss.
Coagulation — or blood clotting — is triggered by the rupture of a blood vessel and is characterized by a cascade of molecular events culminating in the blood changing from liquid to a gel-like clot. This process is orchestrated by platelets, tiny blood cells in the circulation that activate and clump up when they recognize damaged blood vessels.
Sen Gupta and colleagues have been hunting for potentially life-saving artificial platelets to respond to trauma, bleeding disorders, and inflammation. Their search, which has taken the better part of a decade, has culminated in the development of platelet-mimicking procoagulant nanoparticles, or PPNs.
