The University of York research team at the Department of Chemistry has created artificial molecules that can attach the chemical drug heparin that could replace protamine.
Patients are administered heparin during surgery to dilute the blood thus avoiding blood from clotting. But the drug should be extricated after surgery, in order to allow for clotting and recovery of the patient. At present, protamine, a bio- product derived from shellfish, is being used for this purpose. But some patients are allergic to this product.
The artificial molecules developed by the team in York are programmed to assemble by themselves into nano-scale forms that have sizes similar to protamine containing multiple heparin units that have attaching properties.
The research is in its nascent stages, and the paper has appeared in Angewandte Chemie. The study reveals that the newly developed nano-systems can attach heparin just as efficiently as protamine.
According to Professor Dave Smith, at the Department of Chemistry, although clinical applications are yet to begin, the development could result in eco-friendly and degradable heparin binders to accelerate patient recovery after surgery without allergic side-effects caused by protamine.
Source: http://www.york.ac.uk