TT2019-001 Superfast haemostat: Non-oxidised cellulose nanofiber based topical haemostatic agent

Haemorrhage or severe blood loss leads to approximately 2 million deaths every year globally (Healthline.com 2018). Various solutions are available to clinicians to manage haemostasis; however market research indicates substantial room for improvements in areas of cost, shelf- life, speed of haemostasis, biocompatibility (decrease of side-effects like immune response and scarring), and biodegradability.

ANU has developed a new non-oxidized cellulose-based nanofiber (CNF) that has demonstrated superior haemostatic properties against both Surgicel® and Combat Gauze®. The material can be fabricated using an environmentally friendly, cost-effective and scalable ball- milling process and can be administered as both a gel and a sponge.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118043

Potential benefits

A series of clinically relevant in-vitro (thromboelastometry) and in-vivo (terminal liver injury model and subcutaneous implantation model in mice) tests provide compelling data on superiority of our technology over current gold standards Surgicel® and Combat Gauze®.

• Speed: Faster clotting times
• Firmness: Increased clot firmness
• Reduced blood loss: Reduced blood loss by > 2x in- vivo (mice) vs Surgicel®.
• Biocompatibility: Does not scar, degrades slowly over time.
• Special Cases: Demonstrated effectiveness against both heparinised and thrombocytopenia patient blood samples.

Potential applications

• Vascular surgery
• ENT surgery
• Thrombocytopenia haemostasis
• Heparinised patient haemostasis
• External wound healing
• Combat first-aid

Opportunity

The technology is currently at TRL-4 with the inventors investigating long-term safety in non-terminal animal models. ANU is looking for interest for or co-development of the technology for eventual license/spin-out.

IP status

The technology has entered the National Phase in Europe (4164704) and the US (2023310699) and owned by the Australian National University.

Key research team

• Dr Elmira Mohammed - John Curtin School of Medical Research, College of Health and Medicine

Figure 1: Coagulation parameters obtained from non-activated thromboelastometry (NATEM) assays in the presence of CNFs.