Going up

In a study published in Science Advances, a Canadian group has demonstrated that rapid gas release allows microparticles to propel themselves and their therapeutic cargo upstream into wounds. The team showed delivery by the particles improved the hemostatic effects of thrombin (Factor IIa; F2) in three models of hemorrhage, and suggests the simple system could be quickly translated to the clinic.

Christian Kastrup, an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of British Columbia and the principal investigator behind the study, noted the field had doubted the feasibility of propelling microparticles upstream against blood flow. "The problem is that micro- and nanoparticles are very small and red blood cells are very large," he said. ...