Zeolite can be used as an excellent hemostatic agent

Rapid hemostasis is essential for first aid in war wounds, and tourniquets have been the first choice for battlefield treatment. With the changes in battlefield injuries and the development of hemostasis concepts, emergency hemostasis techniques have changed from physical hemostasis to chemical and biological hemostasis, so scholars in the field at home and abroad have developed and applied a variety of new hemostatic materials and methods. 

Currently, a new zeolite emergency hemostasis technique with zeolite material as the core has the characteristics of rapid, convenient, efficient, less adverse effects and good prognosis, which is suitable for situations where traditional hemostatic methods are ineffective (such as internal bleeding, coagulopathy, etc.), and is gradually being promoted and applied.

Background

In modern warfare, 75% of casualties on the battlefield are caused by explosive fragments and gunshot wounds, and it can be said that bleeding remains the major cause of death in battlefield trauma. Effective hemostasis can prevent more than 18% of war trauma deaths. Therefore, the 2016 U.S. Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) continues to prioritize hemostasis in stopping damage control. 

The majority of modern war wounds to the head and neck, 78% of which are caused by explosions, reduce the effectiveness of traditional hemostatic methods, including tourniquets. 1,000 autopsy reports from two modern wars show that hemorrhage from salvageable deaths accounts for 85 percent, with nonconventional stress hemorrhage accounting for 69 percent.The 2016 edition of the TCCC specifies tourniquets as the preferred choice for applicable sites, recommends the use of new hemostatic agents to stop bleeding at other sites, and recommends appropriate products for a variety of injuries.

zeolite - the raw material of first aid hemostatic agent for combat trauma

The "quick-acting hemostatic powder" (BloodShield) developed by Chinese Academy of Military Medical Sciences takes zeolite as the active ingredient. Animal experiments and clinical studies show that its average hemostasis time is 30s, and its mechanism of action is similar to that of QuikClot&RCG, which is now officially listed. For this case, applying medical adhesive to the wound would result in an uneven hemostatic film, prone to rupture and rebleeding. An air-assisted in-situ electrospinning device was designed which processes α-cyanoacrylates for medical use. 

Collagen sites are electrospun into micro-nanofibers and deposited accurately and uniformly on the wound surface under the guidance of airflow to form a dense film. Animal studies have shown that it can be used in small wounds to rapidly stop bleeding in large wounds in a short period of time (2-20 seconds). Bleeding can be stopped within 1-2 minutes.

The coagulation time of different ion-exchange zeolites before and after protein corona formation showed that calcium ion-exchange zeolites have good procoagulant activity with a coagulation time of about 110 s. The coagulation time of the material was further reduced to about 10 s after the formation of protein rings on the surface, indicating that the formation of protein rings can greatly improve the coagulation activity of zeolites. Using the interaction of this nanomaterial with biological systems, the research team changed the original nanostructure of zeolite material and its composition ratio in order to develop a novel zeolite hemostatic agent, thus improving the hemostatic effect and solving the problem of exothermic zeolite burned tissue.

Currently, first aid hemostasis of war wounds is critical for battlefield treatment. The U.S. military has included it in the TCCC and requires all combatants to be proficient. Guided by a shift in the concept of hemostasis to "precision" and "high energy," researchers are applying the latest biological, medical, and engineering technologies to develop hemostatic agents and hemostatic products, or to enhance existing hemostatic components with enhanced hemostatic components. The integration of high-tech physical and biological technologies has led to tremendous advances in the efficiency and purification of new and effective hemostatic ingredients, and zeolites are playing a significant role as one of the key materials.