Life-saving spongy 'bandage' quickly stops bleeding and reduces risk of infection

Researchers at the University of Central Florida aim to prevent such bleeding in potentially fatal situations with a new hemostatic sponge-like bandage with antibacterial properties, which was recently developed and published in the journal This is detailed in a newly published study. Biomaterial science.

“What happened at the scene and during the accident was a massive hemorrhage that could have killed the patient,” said Kaushik Mukhopadhyay, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at UCF and co-author of the study. “These fatalities usually occur within the first 30 minutes to an hour. Our whole idea was to develop a very simple solution that would achieve hemostasis within that time. If we can save patients, we can also save doctors and nurses.” ”

chemistry and mechanism

The method developed by Mukhopadhyay and his team is called SilFoam because it is more like foam than a traditional bandage wrap. SilFoam is a liquid gel composed of siloxane (silicon and oxygen), delivered via a special two-chamber syringe that rapidly expands into a spongy foam within 1 minute on contact with each other within a wound. . The sponge applies pressure to limit bleeding at the delivery site, while also acting as an antimicrobial agent due to the silver oxide it contains.

According to Mukhopadhyay, for every 5 milliliters of gel injected, you can expect an expansion of about 35 milliliters.

“Anytime you have heavy bleeding or bleeding, you want to press on the top to stop the bleeding,” he says. “So what we've done here is actually the same thing. Instead of cutting in, we've injected it and created a voluminous expansion.”

Mukhopadhyay and his collaborators found that using a sponge provided gentler removal.

“The adhesive properties of this bandage have been optimized to avoid rupturing small blood vessels when removed from the system, while containing just the right amount of additives that allow it to adhere to muscles, veins, and arteries, allowing blood to It doesn’t leak,” he says.

Mukhopadhyay said the sponge's porosity and adhesive properties allow it to expand and close the wound, allowing the body's natural clotting process to take over.

“During the reaction, a small amount of heat is generated, which makes the process go very quickly,” he says. “Plus, oxygen gas is going to come out as part of the byproducts of the reaction. So instead of making it a crosslinkable rubber, we made a soft sponge with a lot of porosity inside.”

Experiments and methods

Studying methods of dealing with wounds requires special care and consideration to avoid harm to subjects, and the researchers hope that by testing their methods using functional anatomical models, this can be achieved. was able to be avoided.

They tested the foam using a specially made mannequin designed with realistic blood vessels and scars developed by a local company called SIMETRI, and preliminary results are promising enough to move forward with further testing. I expected that.

“One of the most important parts of this is that we used a non-invasive model,” Mukhopadhyay says. “At this stage, with approval, we can proceed to study the in vivo model. At this stage, there is also no psychological impact on veterinarians or surgeons.”

The experiment showed promise, especially when the researchers compared SilFoam to five other existing treatments.

They say SilFoam has significantly less leakage, can be stored at room temperature versus requiring low temperatures, ultimately has lower material costs, and requires little or no training to use the syringe. I've discovered that there are many benefits, including not having one.

Pritha Sarkar, a graduate student in UCF's Department of Materials Science, assisted with the experiments.

“We had to check the reactivity of the two parts because we needed enough oxygen gas to expand the sponge, but at the same time we wanted to make sure the material didn’t get too hot, as the reaction itself generates heat. ” she says.

Sarkar also texted about the toxicity and strength of the material to ensure it was safe for humans and durable but not too hard.

She also worked to ensure that SilFoam's composition would not harm patients upon removal.

“If you have something very sticky, such as a bandage, applied to the wound, it can prevent blood from flowing out, but when you try to remove the bandage, it can cause tissue damage and pain,” says Sarkar. he says. “Our polymer system doesn't stick to the skin, so it's very easy to remove. Our bandage can be spread over the wound and seal it, but at the same time it can be removed when it's done its job. ”Very easily. ”

Reducing infections and next steps

The antimicrobial portion of the research was conducted through Melanie Kosup, a professor of medicine at UCF and director of UCF's Biionix cluster.

She works in collaboration with materials scientists and mechanical engineers with the goal of creating new medical technologies and treatments.

“Postdoc Dr. Abhi Sindhu Pugajendhi and I worked with Dr. Mukhopadhyay and his team to investigate the efficacy of the substance and how well it inhibits bacterial growth,” says Koazap. “We evaluated the bacteria that commonly infect trauma to the torso. We found this material to be highly effective and utilized it within the bandage system developed by Dr. Mukhopadhyay to develop new This is an exciting and important discovery, confirming its effectiveness as a hemostasis and antibacterial strategy. ”

She says the opportunity to save lives as part of this research was extremely rewarding.

“This study is important because, at this time, there are no effective treatments to treat people with these conditions, and new strategies are really needed,” Kosup says. “This means we are very pleased to be able to team up with Dr. Mukhopadhyay to research new antimicrobial sponges that could potentially provide life-saving treatment after major trauma in the future. That was a goal for me.”

Mukhopadhyay also recently won a GAP award for helping license and deploy SilFoam. He said the next step is to work with the University of Nebraska Medical Center to conduct in vivo studies at their facility.