Seashell waste like shrimp shells or squid pens have a by-product - chitin chitosan - with appropriate properties for developing hemostasis. Mtec's researcher Wanida Janvikul said that hemostat produced from chitin chitosan would offer blood-absorbing functions better than other products currently available. Commercial hemostat products are produced from gelatin, which is imported and expensive.

Wanida said the project hopes to develop hemostat products locally and with a lower price tag. During research, Wanida adopted a chemical process to adjust the chitin chitosan structure to make the material a better absorbent of liquids.

In addition, she combined the new adjusted chitin chitosan, called chitosan derivative, with alginate, a kind of polymer derived from brown seaweed, which also has hemostasis properties. "This combination of the two materials allows us to produce a new material with better hemotasis functions," she said.

Wanida has tested her hemostat prototype on mice and found that it reduces the volume of blood lost by lessening bleeding time. According to the evaluation, blood lost from Wanida's hemostatsis is only 0.1 gram, compared to around 0.4 grams from commercial gelatin-based hemostat. While the bleeding time from her product is just five to six minutes, it's shorter than commercial products that require around 15 minute to stop bleeding.

Wanida said that the results of the test have helped her team find a better product and they hope it could be taken internally as well.

In any operation, especially brain surgery, surgeons need to administer hemostat to the patient's body. The researchers are now working towards making the new hemostat dissolvable without side effects.

Further studies are being made to ensure the hemostat's dissolvable function inside the body. In theory, materials put inside the body like hemostat products should be fully dissolved within two months, otherwise they can harm the patient.

 She said she had also tested the dissolvable function of chitosan derivative alone and found that it disappeared within three weeks, but with the combination of alginate in her product, more tests need to be conducted to study its dissolvable capabilities. Wanida plans to begin tests on a dissolvable process soon and she hopes that the result will be out by the end of the year.

"This testing process will take time as we have to induce the hemostat to the body of a mouse to look at the dissolvable process week by week," she said. However, the testing process is not just centred on its dissolvable functions. Wanida added that she would also need to observe the growth of tissue around the surgical wound area.

"A good-quality hemostat must not create side effects or hamper the growth process of tissues or organs and this is our key concern," she added.

She said that after the test on mice is complete and shows promising results she will conduct clinical trials on humans. For this, she will work in collaboration with Thammasat Hospital's emergency department.

pongpen@nationgroup.com

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation