Researchers have developed a porous xerogel dressing incorporating silica nanoparticles and calcium, that can help blood clot rapidly and provide relief for excessive bleeding. The composite showed significant improvement in rate of blood clotting in comparison to commercial dressing.

Uncontrolled hemorrhage is one of the leading causes of traumatic death resulting from accidents or injuries and during military or surgical operations. More than 40 per cent of trauma deaths are due to severe loss of blood.

In an attempt to reduce this blood loss, the Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, has developed a highly porous spongy xerogel hemostatic dressing. It is supplemented with substances that bind to a receptor inside a cell (agonists) like silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) and calcium. Scientists from the institute studied composite material and found that it increased the blood clotting index by 13-fold in comparison to commercial dressing clotting capacity.

The well-characterised xerogel showed presence of multiple pores of around 30 µm size that contributed to the high absorbance capacity of the dressing. The supplements improved the clotting capacity and resulted in quick absorbance of blood.

Platelets are an important component of blood and contribute to the blood clotting process. The xerogel hemostatic dressing showed enhanced platelet aggregation due to the development of well-formed pseudopodia in the activated platelets, resulting in agglutination which plays a major role in the clotting process. The dressing can provide a potential hemostatic solution to reduce blood loss, disability and mortality during surgery and trauma care.