Researchers develop hemostatic agent from mussels and silkworm cocoons to stop organ bleeding

In recent news, there has been a case where a patient experienced pain due to a surgical procedure involving sutures, resulting in the unintended presence of gauze in the patient’s body. Gauze is commonly used to control bleeding during medical interventions, aiding in hemostasis. However, when inadvertently left in the body, it can cause inflammation and infection.

Addressing this issue, recent studies have been published by researchers focusing on hemostatic agents derived from mussels and Silkworm Cocoons This hemostatic agent has gained attention in the scientific community for its efficacy in blood clotting and its safety within the body. There is paper. published In the journal small.

A collaborative team led by Professor Heung Joon Cha (Department of Chemical Engineering and the School of Convergence Science and Technology) and others developed a bilayer nanofiber membrane hemostat using natural proteins derived from silkworms and silkworm cocoons. What is it.

Conventional hemostatic agents such as gauze or medical bands are limited to application to the skin surface. Although there are materials that degrade naturally within the body, such as fibrin glue and collagen sponges, they require human or animal-derived proteins, making them quite expensive. Furthermore, current hemostatic materials do not have a permanent barrier to bleeding sites and are prone to infection by external contaminants.

In response, the researchers developed a bilayer adhesive hemostat using mussel adhesive proteins that exhibit strong underwater tissue adhesion and silk fibroin extracted from silkworm cocoons.

In research, mussel Adhesive proteins Demonstrated excellent hemostatic effects including platelet activation. The researchers used methanol vapors to alter the secondary structure of silkworm silk proteins, resulting in a nanofiber membrane with a hydrophobic outer surface.

In light of this, the team engineered a hemostatic agent with an inner layer with mussel adhesion proteins for wound adhesion and an outer protective layer composed entirely of silkworm silk proteins.

through Animal experimentsthe hemostatic agent demonstrated accelerated tissue adhesion and hemostasis in bleeding wounds, effectively inhibiting aqueous infiltration. Infectious agents such as bacteria. Using two proteins that are both highly biocompatible and biodegradable, researchers have introduced a new hemostatic agent capable of clotting blood and providing defense against infection.

“We have validated the exceptional hemostatic performance of a multifunctional topical adhesive hemostatic agent that is derived from nature and based on human-degradable proteins,” said POSTECH Professor Hyung Joon Cha, who led the research. ” “We will continue to conduct further research to assess its applicability in real-world patient care or surgical settings,” he added.