New gauze material is infused with nanoparticles to quickly stop bleeding
Medical gauze has received its first upgrade since World War I. Chemists have infused it with nanoparticles derived from kaolin clay, which somehow give it an amazing ability to stop severe bleeding. It was developed when the Navy approached a team of inorganic chemists at the University of California Santa Barbara to solve a problem with QuikClot, a zeolite-based hemostatic agent that became way too hot and caused burns when it came in contact with water or blood. While performing blood clotting tests, they realized that kaolin clay, which has been used as a control for clotting experiments since the 1950’s, could also be used as a first aid product.
Marketed under the well-known QuikClot® brand, the new Combat GauzeTM combines surgical gauze with a proprietary inorganic material that stops arterial and venous bleeding in seconds – even more rapidly in this format than earlier Z-Medica products. Based on a different mineral than zeolite-based QuikClot® products, it generates no heat. It shares the benefit of being inert and non-allergenic. The material, pliable and familiar to medical personnel, can be fitted to any size or shape wound – including penetrating wounds.
More details and bloody video via Wired