It sounds like science fiction: A bomb blast knocks a
soldier to the ground. From the outside, they look fine, but internally
they’re hemorrhaging as their internal organs bleed out. A medic appears
on the scene and immediately administers an injection of nanoparticles
that seek out the internal bleeding and help the blood to clot, saving
the soldier's life. Well, it might not be science fiction for much
longer.
A team from Virginia Tech and Case Western Reserve University
have built on past research to create clot-promoting nanoparticles that
are able to carry medicine directly to the site of injury, starting the
healing process before a patient even leaves the battlefield or scene
of an accident.

Blast injuries—either from the pressure wave, flying shrapnel or
being thrown to the ground—account for 79% of combat-related injuries,
causing the brain, lungs, liver, and other organs to bleed
uncontrollably. According
to the researchers, they started investigating the use of nanoparticles
to treat hemorrhaging because “the shocking reality is that there
are no treatments for internal bleeding.”
“One cool thing about a nanoparticle is you can design it to actually
seek out its target,” Pamela VandeVord, one of the researchers from
Virginia Tech, told Student Science.
Once injected, the particles enter the blood system where they seek out
platelets, the cells in the blood responsible for clotting. When they
find one, a chemical coating on the outside of the nanoparticle attaches
to the surface of the platelet, joining the two.
Previous research
has demonstrated how this action—the joining of the nanoparticle and
platelet—increased survival rates from blast injuries in mice from 60%
to a staggering 95%. This new research, published in ACS Macro Letters,
shows that the benefit of these nanoparticles can be further enhanced
by carrying with them anti-inflammatory steroids. After reaching the
site of trauma, the nanoparticles naturally break down, releasing the
drug directly at the site of injury.
Their previous research had shown that survival and lung damage were
correlated, and that by reducing bleeding in the lungs, the particles
aided survival. This time around, the researchers found similar
results: Soon after injury, the nanoparticles helped restore function to
the rodents’ damaged lungs, and a week later they continued to show
improvement compared to untreated animals.
These impressive results would not just be limited to war zones either. With internal bleeding as the leading
cause of death amongst 5 to 44 year olds in the United States, the
researchers hope that an injection of nanoparticles could also be
applied to slow bleeding in situations such as car crashes.
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