Chemistry: Using blood to prevent clotting
Nature Communications
February 12, 2014
A multicomponent material designed to prevent blood clotting is reported in Nature Communications this week. This graphene-based material could potentially be used as a coating for blood-contacting biomedical devices and tubes, such as those used for dialysis.
Blood clotting on biomedical devices may inhibit their performance but can be limited in the presence of nitroxyls, small molecules with anti-clotting properties. Nitroxyls can be produced by oxidation of arginine, a chemical commonly found in the blood, with hydrogen peroxide. Yu Huang and colleagues show that a composite material, consisting of hemin molecules and glucose oxidase enzymes anchored onto graphene, is capable of generating hydrogen peroxide from blood sugar and then using it to convert arginine to nitroxyls. This material is thus able to produce nitroxyls from blood without the addition of any additional chemicals. In a proof-of-concept study, they show that blood clotting on a plastic film coated with their material is substantially reduced and remains so even after three days.
doi: 10.1038/ncomms4200
Research highlights
-
May 12
Geoscience: Monitoring earthquakes at the speed of lightNature
-
May 4
Microbiology: Bacteriophage therapy helps treat multi-drug resistant infection in an immunocompromised patientNature Communications
-
Apr 27
Planetary science: Building blocks of DNA detected in meteoritesNature Communications
-
Apr 8
Health: Psilocybin use associated with lower risk of opioid addictionScientific Reports
-
Apr 5
Energy: Winterizing the Texan energy infrastructure pays off in the long termNature Energy
-
Mar 17
Neuroscience: Sample size matters in studies linking brain scans to behaviourNature