Nanoparticles Double Survival Rate in Trauma

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University have homed in on some very interesting nanoparticles…ones that could save the lives of trauma patients every day. The team has found that the platelet-like nanoparticles, which are made of biodegradable polymers used in devices already approved by the FDA, rapidly create healthy clots and nearly double the survival rate in that critical first hour after injury.

“We knew an injection of these nanoparticles stopped bleeding faster, but now we know the bleeding is stopped in time to increase survival following trauma, ” said Erin Lavik, Sc.D., a professor of biomedical engineering and the person leading the team, in the August 21, 2012 news release.

If all goes as planned the researchers will have come up with synthetic platelets that first responders and battlefield medics could carry with them to stabilize car crash or roadside bomb victims. An injection could slow or halt internal bleeding until the victim reaches a hospital and receives blood transfusions and surgery.

This effort began when Lavik and her colleagues learned that the military has no equivalent of a tourniquet, pressure dressing or other easily transportable technology to stem bleeding from internal injuries. They then realized that their work would be applicable beyond military conflict.

Tested on a lethal liver injury model in lab rats, the one-hour survival rate of the models injected with the nanoparticles was 80%. For control groups treated with saline alone the survival rate fell to 47%, while control groups receiving scrambled nanoparticles totaled just 40%. Among the three, the models treated with the platelet-like nanoparticles exhibited the least blood loss. The researchers also found that the hybrid clots were as firm as natural clots. In additional testing, they found no complications following administration of the nanoparticles. Earlier tests showed these synthetic platelets can cut bleeding time by as much as half and that, a week later, the rats showed no ill effects from the materials.