Nanotechnology Applications in Controlling Hemorrhage

Mathias Madray², KB Sneed¹ and Yashwant Pathak¹*
¹Taneja College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida, Tampa FL 33612
²Graduate program, Taneja College of Pharmacy University of South Florida, Tampa FL 33612
*Corresponding Author: Yashwant Pathak, Taneja College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida, Tampa FL 33612.

Published: February 14, 2023

DOI: 10.55162/MCMS.04.108

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Abstract  

Hemorrhage is defined as a profuse escape of blood from a ruptured blood vessel. This term is often associated with physical trauma and is responsible for 30-40% of trauma-related deaths with 33-56% of these occurring in the prehospital setting. Hemorrhagic shock is the second leading cause of preventable early deaths in injured civilian patients, and it is the number one cause of preventable death on the battlefield. The solution to this issue is achieving hemostasis in a timely manner. Hemostasis is the process that prevents blood loss following an injury. This process has three characteristics, the first is vasoconstriction, and the second is plug formation, which involves the collection of platelets to act as a physical plug to prevent blood from flowing. Last is coagulation, which is a cascade where a fibrin network is formed to act as a glue in holding the platelet plug in place. When an injury occurs, especially in the prehospital setting, a wound dressing is used to achieve hemostasis until a higher-level intervention can occur at a hospital. Currently, no out of hospital treatments that resolve the hemorrhage in non-compressible areas of the human body. Nanofibers can be used to mitigate issues that present with current treatment guidelines for bleeding in non-compressible hemorrhage. Previous studies have tested individual novel treatments for non-compressible hemorrhage and have tested against a control. This study aims to test eight of the novel interventions developed based on nanotechnology. This review compares these nano fiber systems using a porcine model with a splenic laceration in order to determine which is more effective in the management of non-compressible hemorrhage as measured by the time taken to achieve hemostasis and survivability.

Keywords: Nanotechnology applications; controlling hemorrhage; Nanofibers; Poly (γ-glutamic acid) hydrogels reinforced with bacterial cellulose nanofibers; Kappa carrageenan (κCA)-coated Starch/cellulose nanofiber; Injectable and super elastic nanofiber rectangle matrices (“peanuts”); nano spheres; PEI and Cholic Acid Injectable nano hemostats