Macromolecular polyphosphate inhibitors to treat thrombosis without bleeding side effects

A macromolecular structure that inhibits polyphosphate chains, which activate the contact activation system involved in clotting but not in hemostasis, could help treat thrombosis while avoiding the bleeding side effects of traditional blood thinners.

Screening for compounds that enable selective binding to polyphosphate by being only slightly positively charged at physiological pH, but increasingly positively charged in the presence of a polyphosphate chain, identified lead macromolecules containing cationic binding groups. These molecules were then displayed on the surface of a dendritic polymer scaffold composed of a hyperbranched polyglycerol structure decorated with PEG to prevent non-specific binding interactions. ...