Preservation Of Platelets For Hemostatic And Wound Healing Bandages

Major, uncontrolled bleeding as a result of battlefield injuries or civilian trauma often results in death. Controlling this bleeding, and simultaneously providing a suitable matrix and growth factors for wound healing could prevent some of these deaths and speed recovery. Platelets contribute to hemostasis and wound healing by participating in clot generation and the generation of clot promoting enzymes and by releasing beneficial growth factors. The overall goal of this project is to provide a wound dressing that incorporates a dried form of platelets to take advantage of these properties. Drying processes to preserve platelets at ambient temperatuires have advanced, however a significant barrier to the production of high quality dried platelets is the tendency for platelets to become refractory to activation while being prepared for drying and subsequent vitrification. This proposal addresses the means needed to stabilize platelets during isolation and preservation, so that when rehydrated by moisture at the wound site, they respond by normal activation mechanisms with an appropriate level of pro-coagulant activity and growth factor release. A key feature of maintaining the platelets' response to normal activation mechanisms is that it will provide a reservoir of platelet-derived growth factors to be delivered to the wound over time.