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Importance of Artificial Platelet Research

November 6, 2014; Posted by: WeBleed staff

Researchers can now mimic platelets in the blood.

Yesterday an article from EurekaAlert! (Science News) explained the type of research currently ongoing with the use of artificial platelets. Research teams from Case Western Reserve University and University of California in Santa Barbara were able to halt bleeding in mice using artificial platelets. The researchers believe design factors together are important in inducing clots to form faster selectively at vascular injury sites while preventing harmful clots from forming indiscriminately elsewhere in the body.

The ability to create artificial platelets is aimed at stemming bleeding in patients suffering from traumatic injury, undergoing surgeries or suffering clotting disorders from platelet defects or a lack of platelets. The technology may have the ability to deliver drugs to target sites in patients suffering from thrombosis or other platelet-involved conditions.

“Morphological and mechanical factors influence the margination of natural platelets to the blood vessel wall, and only when they are near the wall can the critical clot-promoting chemical interactions take place,” says Anirban Sen Gupta, an associate professor of bio-medical engineering at Case Western Reserve.

Injury-site-specific proteins that include von Willebrand Factor and collagen are directly targeted by these platelets and encourage a faster rate of clotting. Testing in mouse models showed that intravenous injection of these artificial platelets formed clots at the site of injury three times faster than natural platelets alone in control mice.

We will post updates as more research becomes available.

Photo Credit – EurekaAlert!

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