Researchers at Agharkar Research Institute created a patented xerogel bandage that significantly increases blood clotting rates. Laboratory tests showed a 13-fold improvement over standard gauze. PUNE: What if a simple bandage dressing with a highly porous xerogel could save lives by clotting blood faster during emergencies? Scientists from Agharkar Research Institute ( ARI ) have developed and patented such a product.
Its application during lab tests shows improvement in the rate of blood clotting in comparison to commercial gauze dressing. They are in talks with the industry for technology transfer. The experts said that 40% of trauma deaths in the country were due to severe loss of blood resulting in haemorrhage, damage to internal organs, amputation and disability and other debilitating medical situations.
The scientists said the xerogel dressing's versatility, robust performance, and economically affordable nature make it a promising option in medical scenarios from emergencies to surgeries. A xerogel is a solid formed from a gel by drying with unhindered shrinkage. The research, led by Vandana Ghormade of nanobiosciences department of ARI, with Gokul Patil and Rutuja Pawar, was published in the Journal of Applied Polymer Science under the title -- 'Investigation of platelet activation and calcium store release by a topical hemostatic xerogel dressing for improved blood clotting'.
The gauze used as first aid material, or the natural defences of the human body operating through a reduction in blood flow to the injury site, platelet plug formation by fibrin activation, and activation of blood clotting pathways are inadequate to halt severe haemorrhage. Therefore, improved haemostatic materials are required to reduce blood loss. Ghormade said, "This highly porous spongy xerogel haemostatic dressing is supplemented with substances that bind to a receptor inside a cell like silica nanoparticles and calcium.
We studied the composite material and found that it increased the blood clotting index 13-fold in comparison to the clotting capacity of a commercial dressing." The study said intracellular molecular mechanisms of platelet activation through PAR1 gene activation and calcium store release- a significant event in the activation of platelets is responsible for the haemostatic efficiency of the xerogel composite. "Such dressings can provide a haemostatic solution to reduce blood loss, disability, and mortality during surgery and trauma care," Patil said.
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