Platelet-Like Particles Augment Natural Blood Clotting

A new class of synthetic particles could augment natural blood clotting for the emergency treatment of traumatic injuries, according to a new study.

Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, USA) and Emory University (Atlanta, GA, USA) developed the synthetic platelet-like particles (PLPs), from soft and deformable hydrogel precursor materials. The synthetic PLPs are bound to an antibody that has a high affinity to the polymerized form of fibrin, and a low affinity for fibrinogen. As a result, they are only activated when the body’s natural clotting process is triggered by thrombin-activated fibrin.

Testing done in animal models and in a simulated circulatory system suggest that the particles are effective at slowing bleeding, and can safely circulate in the bloodstream. The in vitro and in silico analyses also demonstrated that after clotting, the PLPs also actively collapse fibrin networks, an emergent behavior that mimics in vivo clot contraction. According to the researchers, the PLPs could offer doctors a new option for curbing surgical bleeding and addressing some clotting disorders without the need for transfusions of natural platelets. The study was published on September 7, 2014, in Nature Materials.

“When used by emergency medical technicians in the civilian world or by medics in the military, we expect this technology could reduce the number of deaths from excessive bleeding,” said lead author Ashley Brown, PhD, of the Georgia Tech school of chemistry and biochemistry. “If EMTs and medics had particles like these that could be injected and then go specifically to the site of a serious injury, they could help decrease the number of deaths associated with serious injuries.”

“For a patient with insufficient platelets due to bleeding or an inherited disorder, physicians often have to resort to platelet transfusions, which can be difficult to obtain,” added co-author Wilbur Lam, MD, of the Emory school of medicine department of pediatrics. “These particles could potentially be a way to obviate the need for a transfusion. Though they don’t have all the assets of natural platelets, a number of intriguing experiments have shown that the particles help augment the clotting process.”

Related Links:
Georgia Institute of Technology
Emory University