Teams at Texas A&M University, led by Akhilesh Gaharwar with collaborators Duncan Maitland and Taylor Ware, are developing injectable hemostatic bandages intended to change trauma care by dramatically reducing bleeding time. Funding comes from the US Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation. Two papers published in Advanced Science and Advanced Functional Materials report that the new dressings can cut bleeding time by almost 70%.
The research focuses on deep internal bleeding, where external compression cannot work. Normally human blood clots within six to seven minutes; the researchers say their dressings reduce clotting time to one to two minutes. The materials build on a long history of clay minerals used for wounds in ancient China, Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Greece and Rome, but the team developed synthetic nanosilicate particles to lower infection risk.
A critical challenge was keeping the particles at the injury site. Loose powders can wash away in high blood flow, and small particles that escape can travel through vessels and cause dangerous clots or embolism. The team created two engineered delivery methods: one mixes nanosilicate into an expanding foam that is stable in its applicator but reacts to body heat, expanding to fill the wound and hold particles as a single piece; the other uses micro-ribbons coated with nanosilicate that curl when warmed and tangle into a foam-like mass, with ribbons large enough to prevent travel through vessels.
Doctoral student Saptarshi Biswas has handled samples, and Gaharwar notes that if the materials reach first aid kits in ambulances and soldiers’ backpacks they could save many lives. He adds that saving 30–40% of hemorrhagic shock victims would be a major achievement.
Difficult words
- hemostatic — causes or helps blood to stop flowing
- bandage — material used to cover and protect woundsbandages
- clot — to change from liquid to a solid massclots, clotting
- nanosilicate — very small synthetic clay-like particle
- embolism — blockage in a blood vessel by a traveling particle
- expanding foam — material that grows to fill a space when activated
- micro-ribbons — thin ribbon-like pieces designed not to travel in vessels
- hemorrhagic shock — severe medical condition from heavy blood loss
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How could injectable hemostatic bandages change trauma care in ambulances and on battlefields? Give reasons based on the article.
- What remaining safety concerns about particles traveling through blood vessels do the delivery methods try to address? Explain using details from the text.
- If clotting time drops from six to seven minutes to one or two minutes, what practical effects might that have for emergency treatment and survival?
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