"Natural Bandage” Mimics Body's Healing Process

Using the same compound the body uses to clot blood, scientists have created a nano-fiber mat that could eventually become a "natural bandage,” which could be placed on a wound and never taken off, minimizing blood loss and encouraging the natural healing process. The research was reported in the February 12, 2003, issue of Nano Letters.

The mat is spun from strands of fibrinogen 1,000 times thinner than a human hair by a technique called electrospinning. Natural fibrinogen fibers form in the body at diameters between 82 and 91 nm, and the researchers have closely mimicked these dimensions by creating fibers of about 80 nm in diameter. Because of this, the body sees them as normal and promotes normal behavior. The mat could be used for anything from a minor cut to a battlefield wound. Once in place, it can be left there to promote healing and will eventually be absorbed by the body.

"Sometimes in surgery there are small bleeders that surgeons can't control,” said Gary Bowlin, Ph.D., a professor of biomedical engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU, Richmond, VA, USA) and lead author of the paper. "In this case, they can just take a small piece of this mat, slap it down, stop the bleeding, and leave it.” VCU has licensed the technology to NanoMatrix, Inc. (Irving, TX, USA).