Synthetic Nano-Platelets Added to Blood Cut Healing Time in Half
Most would agree that blood is an important element of physiology, without which a good portion of the oxygen-breathing animal kingdom is doomed. Yet when bleeding begins, the most commonly employed solution is decidedly low-tech: apply pressure. But in what’s already been a stellar week for synthetic blood additives, medical researchers have developed injectible synthetic nanoparticles that could cut bleeding time in half. The nanoparticles mimic the platelets already found in blood. When blood begins to flow from a wound, platelets bind together using fibrous protein molecules in an attempt to plug the breach before too much blood is lost. The synthetic platelets augment this process, bonding with natural blood platelets and acting as a nanostructure boosting the natural platelets' ability to form a solid barrier that stops bleeding. Related ArticlesTo Save Soldiers on The Battlefield, Darpa Invests in Suspended AnimationArtificial Red Blood Cells To Aid Drug Delivery, Imaging Human Blood...