Rice University lab employs clotting powers of viper-derived drug, even in presence of anti-coagulants
A nanofiber hydrogel infused with snake venom may be the best material to stop bleeding quickly, according to Rice University scientists.
The hydrogel called SB50 incorporates batroxobin, a venom produced by two species of South American pit viper. It can be injected as a liquid and quickly turns into a gel that conforms to the site of a wound, keeping it closed, and promotes clotting within seconds.
Rice chemist Jeffrey Hartgerink, lead author Vivek Kumar and their colleagues reported their discovery in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering. The hydrogel may be most useful for surgeries, particularly for patients who take anti-coagulant drugs to thin their blood.
“It’s interesting that you can take something so deadly and turn it into something that has the potential to save lives,” Hartgerink said.
Batroxobin was recognized for its properties as a coagulant – a substance that encourages blood to clot – in 1936. It has been used in various therapies as a way to remove excess fibrin proteins from the blood to treat thrombosis and as a topical hemostat. It has also been used as a diagnostic tool to determine blood-clotting time in the presence of heparin, an anti-coagulant drug.
“From a clinical perspective, that’s far and away the most important issue here,” Hartgerink said. “There’s a lot of different things that can trigger blood coagulation, but when you’re on heparin, most of them don’t work, or they work slowly or poorly. That obviously causes problems if you’re bleeding.
“Heparin blocks the function of thrombin, an enzyme that begins a cascade of reactions that lead to the clotting of blood,” he said. “Batroxobin is also an enzyme with similar function to thrombin, but its function is not blocked by heparin. This is important because surgical bleeding in patients taking heparin can be a serious problem. The use of batroxobin allows us to get around this problem because it can immediately start the clotting process, regardless of whether heparin is there or not.”
The batroxobin combined with the Rice lab’s hydrogels isn’t taken directly from snakes, Hartgerink said. The substance used for medicine is produced by genetically modified bacteria and then purified, avoiding the risk of other contaminant toxins.
The Rice researchers combined batroxobin with their synthetic, self-assembling nanofibers, which can be loaded into a syringe and injected at the site of a wound, where they reassemble themselves into a gel.
Tests showed the new material stopped a wound from bleeding in as little as six seconds, and further prodding of the wound minutes later did not reopen it. The researchers also tested several other options: the hydrogel without batroxobin, the batroxobin without the hydrogel, a current clinical hemostat known as GelFoam and an alternative self-assembling hemostat known as Puramatrix and found that none were as effective, especially in the presence of anti-coagulants.
The new work builds upon the Rice lab’s extensive development of injectable hydrogel scaffolds that help wounds heal and grow natural tissue. The synthetic scaffolds are built from the peptide sequences to mimic natural processes.
“To be clear, we did not discover nor do any of the initial investigations of batroxobin,” Hartgerink said. “Its properties have been well-known for many decades. What we did was combine it with the hydrogel we’ve been working on for a long time.
Read more: Snake venom helps hydrogels stop the bleeding
The Latest on: Nanofiber hydrogel
[google_news title=”” keyword=”nanofiber hydrogel” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Nanofiber hydrogel
- Aligned peptide 'noodles' could enable lab-grown biological tissueson May 3, 2024 at 10:18 am
A team of chemists and bioengineers at Rice University and the University of Houston have achieved a significant milestone in their work to create a biomaterial that can be used to grow biological ...
- Best Gel Mattress for 2024on May 1, 2024 at 3:31 pm
If you’re a hot sleeper and you’re looking for a new mattress with pressure relief and motion isolation, consider switching to a gel memory foam mattress. This is a popular choice in ...
- Adapalene - Uses, Side Effects, and Moreon April 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm
It also helps decrease redness and swelling that happens with acne. Topical Cream, Gel, and Solution. Adapalene cream, gel, and solution should be stored at room temperature, between 68 F to 77 F ...
- 9 best gel nail kits for salon-quality manicures at homeon April 16, 2024 at 9:08 am
DIY manicures are having a resurgence, with regular polish, press-on nails and gel manicures all picking up in popularity. After all, our monthly budgets are getting smaller, our lives busier ...
- Kirigami Hydrogels Rise From Cellulose Filmon April 14, 2024 at 5:00 pm
New options for making finely structured soft, flexible and expandable materials called hydrogels have been developed by researchers at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT). Their ...
- New Hydrogel Material Removes Microplastics From Wateron April 14, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Researchers have developed a new multi-layered hydrogel material that can effectively capture microplastics from contaminated water and break them down when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. The new ...
- Novel hydrogel removes microplastics from wateron April 11, 2024 at 5:00 pm
To combat this emerging pollutant, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have designed a sustainable hydrogel to remove microplastics from water. The material has a unique ...
- Laser-patterned thin films that swell into kirigami-like structures offer new opportunities in hydrogel technologyon April 11, 2024 at 10:01 am
More information: Daisuke Nakagawa et al, Adaptive plasticity of auxetic Kirigami hydrogel fabricated from anisotropic swelling of cellulose nanofiber film, Science and Technology of Advanced ...
- Aruba Aloe hand sanitizer and gel recalled nationwide after methanol foundon April 9, 2024 at 7:56 am
Aruba Aloe Balm is recalling Aruba Aloe Hand Sanitizer Gel Alcohol 80% and Aruba Aloe Alcoholada Gel, which is sold across the U.S., after finding methanol in the products. Substantial exposure to ...
- Hand sanitizer, aloe gel recalled over warnings it could cause comas or blindnesson April 8, 2024 at 8:35 am
Several lots of hand sanitizer and aloe gel are being recalled for containing methanol, which can put consumers at risk for serious health issues, according to federal health officials.
via Bing News