http://www.technologyreview.com/Nanotech/20755
Monday, May 12, 2008
Nanohealing Material Heads to Market
A startup is planning human trials for a nanostructured material that
quickly stops bleeding.
By Kevin Bullis
Blood stopper: The clear fluid in this dish transforms into a gel in the
presence of blood; such a gel can stops bleeding almost instantly.
Credit: Asia Kepka
A startup based in Cambridge, MA, says that it plans to soon begin
clinical trials of a nanostructured material that stops bleeding almost
instantly. A startup called Arch Therapeutics has licensed the
technology from MIT and is developing manufacturing processes for making
it in large amounts.
The new material can be poured over a site and will stop the bleeding
almost at once.
The first application, pending Food and Drug Administration approval,
will be for use during surgery to quickly stop bleeding and even prevent
it in the first place. Floyd Loop, currently an advisor to Arch
Therapeutics, and formerly a cardiovascular surgeon and the head of
Cleveland Clinic, says that it could be useful in a wide variety of
surgeries, including brain, heart, and prostate. For example, he says
that when large tumors are removed, "there's a lot of diffuse bleeding
around the site, and you have to spend a lot of time with sponges and
cautery stopping it."
Loops says that in addition to saving time, which can improve the
outcome of a surgery, the material could decrease the need for
transfusions and reoperations to control bleeding. What's more, it could
reduce the risk of infection. It could be used, for instance, to prevent
leakage after bowel-repair surgery. "I've never seen anything like it,"
Loop says.
Eventually, the material could be used by first responders to stop
bleeding at accident sites and on the battlefield. It has a long shelf
life, which makes it attractive for use in first-aid kits. It's also
easily broken down by the body, so it doesn't have to be removed, unlike
other agents for stopping blood flow. However, Loop cautions that
further tests are needed to confirm that the material will work in
nonsurgical applications.
The material, a synthetic peptide, was discovered at MIT in the early
1990s. But it wasn't until a few years ago that its potential for
stopping bleeding was discovered. Rutledge Ellis-Behnke, a researcher at
MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, was exploring its
potential use to promote the healing of brain injuries. When he applied
a liquid containing the synthetic peptides to a wound site in animal
experiments, bleeding in the area stopped within a few seconds. Arch
Therapeutics was founded in mid-2006 to develop the material for
commercial use. The company made its first public appearance late last
month when it announced a finalized licensing agreement for the new
technology.
Several other compounds have recently been developed to stop bleeding.
Fibrin-based products are used in emergency rooms and dental
applications, for example, but the new material is faster and more
effective, says Steve Yerid, an emergency-room physician at St. Vincent
Hospital, in Worcester, MA. Other approaches to stopping bleeding are
too slow, can lead to tissue damage, or must be removed from the wound
because they don't readily break down. Conversely, the new material is
easy to apply, doesn't cause damage, and can be left on the wound, even
if it's a deep wound that's eventually sewn up.
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.
So far, Arch Therapeutics has been focused on developing new processes
for making the materials in large amounts and on developing a better
understanding of the mechanisms at work in stopping blood flow. It is
preparing to do clinical trials, but is first doing further animal
tests. Based on the fact that the material works as a physical barrier,
the founders expect that it will qualify as a medical device rather than
a drug, which could speed the approval process.
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((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
