Nanohealing Material Heads to Market

I first wrote on October 14, 2006 about a liquid that quickly self-assembles into a solid gel upon contact with blood, sealing the wound quickly.  At that time, it appeared that military use of this type of substance was 8-10 years away from 2006.  However, it appears that progress has accelerated, and we are much closer to market availability than it initially appeared.  An update on the progress is posted this week in MIT Technology Review.

The material consists of naturally occurring amino acids that have been engineered to form peptides that spontaneously cluster together to create long fibers when exposed to salty, aqueous environments, such as those found in the body. The fibers form a mesh that serves as a physical barrier to blood and other fluids.

Needless to say, this could save many lives on the battlefield, in car crashes, and during surgery.  If it becomes inexpensive enough, it could even be part of home first-aid kits.  Arch Theraputics is the company that is licensing the technology from MIT, and clinical trials are set to begin soon.

Let's hope the next hurdles are quickly cleared. 

Comments

[brokerdavelhr]

GK,
I am not sure if it fits into the realm of nano healing persay, but the US army (not to mention several others) have a bandage out that uses some kind of compound that hardens on contact. It is used to stop major arterial bleeding only. I will look into it further for you, but I believe that it uses an advanced string of proteins and peptides that hardens instantly when it somes into contact with human blood.
BTW- As all this is occuring on the celular level, it cannot be labled as nanohealing. Nano healing would imply that a nano sized device would attach itself to the affected area, and repair the damage to the cell walls themselves.
Very interesting concept, and I hope that it comes into fruition.

[BL]

would there be any way to alter the human dna to make blood clotting more effective, and more instantanious?

[GK]

BL,

That would be undesirable, as too much clotting is a primary cause of artery blockage, leading to heart attacks and strokes.

Blood thinners are one of the primary medications for people with heart attack and stroke risk.

A material that seals wounds quickly when they occur is the optimal solution.

[alloy qc]

Thanks for posting.The natural breakdown may be related to the fact that, although the peptide is synthetic, its amino acid constituents are found naturally in the body.