Nanoparticles (green) help form clots in an injured liver. The researchers added color to the scanning electron microscopy image after it was taken. Credit: Erin Lavik, Ph.D.
At this week’s 252nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society researchers from University of Maryland, Baltimore County reported on the development of nanoparticles that can help speed up blood clotting. So far tested only on pig’s blood, the goal of the research is to provide clinicians with a more effective way of treating internal bleeding.
The new nanoparticles took effort to create because besides promoting activated platelets to link together, they have to spread out when injected and not cause an immune response. A special molecule attached to each nanoparticle sticks to a glycoprotein produced by activated platelets, providing the particles’ targeting abilities. But because the nanoparticles stuck to each other, the team added a slick polymer to prevent them from immediately aggregating.
The next steps will involve trying the particles on human blood, and somehow evaluating whether they will increase the chances of thrombus formation and subsequent strokes.
