Blitz Bureau
APOROUS composite xerogel dressing incorporating silica nanoparticles and calcium, that can help blood clot rapidly and provide relief for uncontrolled haemorrhage, has been developed by scientists at the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune. The composite showed significant improvement in rate of blood clotting in comparison to commercial dressing.
The well-characterised xerogel showed presence of multiple pores of around 30 µm size that contributed to the high absorbance capacity of the dressing. The supplements improved the clotting capacity and resulted in quick absorbance of blood.
Uncontrolled haemorrhage is one of the leading causes of traumatic death resulting from accidents or injuries and during military or surgical operations. More than 40 of trauma deaths are due to severe loss of blood.
Gauze, a commonly used first aid material or the natural defenses of the human body operating through 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 hemostatic materials are urgently required to reduce blood losses. Scientists from ARI, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology (DST studied composite material and found that it increased the blood clotting index by 13-fold in comparison to commercial dressing clotting capacity.
The xerogel hemostatic dressing showed enhanced platelet aggregation due to the development of wellformed pseudopodia in the activated platelets resulting in agglutination which play a major role in the clotting process. In addition, the composite enhanced calcium release, and its extrusion.
Platelets are an important component of blood and contribute to the blood clotting process. Several factors like change in platelet shape, secretion of calcium, and activation of receptors on platelet surface play a role in the intricate pathway of blood clotting.
