Tissue Adhesives for Battlefield Hemorrhage Control

The objective of this program is the development of a fibrin tissue adhesive which will be usable under battlefield conditions. The new adhesive will be a blood activated, single agent system which is applied directly to the site of bleeding. It consists chiefly of a mixture of fibrin monomer and tissue fibronectin which will form an adherent fibrin clot on contact with bleeding tissue. The Phase I program is devoted entirely to examining the ability of the material to produce hemostasis and adhere to the tissue. The material will be tested in vitro and in animal experiments, and its performance is to be compared with a commerically available (Europe) fibrin adhesive. In these tests, it will be tested both in its natural form and when encapsulated in polymeric nanospheres. We believe the adhesive must be part of a wound dressing system which will produce hemostatsis and protect the site of injury from contamination. The dressing is also a potential vehicle for eluting antimicrobial agents or tissue growth fractors at the site to promote healing. The would dressing provides a delivery system for the fibrin adhesive in the case of deep tissue injury as well.