[nanoPost] Nanostructured material that stops bleeding almost instantly

The new material can be poured over a site and will stop the bleeding almost at once. The first application, pending Food and Drug Administration approval, will be for use during surgery to quickly stop bleeding and even prevent it in the first place.

- The product could be useful in a wide variety of surgeries, including brain, heart, and prostate.

- the material could decrease the need for transfusions and reoperations to control bleeding.

- it could reduce the risk of infection. It could be used, for instance, to prevent leakage after bowel-repair surgery

- Eventually, the material could be used by first responders to stop bleeding at accident sites and on the battlefield.

- It has a long shelf life, which makes it attractive for use in first-aid kits.

- It's also easily broken down by the body, so it doesn't have to be removed, unlike other agents for stopping blood flow

- further tests are needed to confirm that the material will work in nonsurgical applications.

- The material is a synthetic peptide

- Several other compounds have recently been developed to stop bleeding. Fibrin-based products are used in emergency rooms and dental applications, for example, but the new material is faster and more effective

- Other approaches to stopping bleeding are too slow, can lead to tissue damage, or must be removed from the wound because they don't readily break down. Conversely, the new material is easy to apply, doesn't cause damage, and can be left on the wound, even if it's a deep wound that's eventually sewn up.

- The material consists of naturally occurring amino acids that have been engineered to form peptides that spontaneously cluster together to create long fibers when exposed to salty, aqueous environments, such as those found in the body. The fibers form a mesh that serves as a physical barrier to blood and other fluids.