New bandage clots blood but doesn't stick to wound

An ETH Zurich team led by Prof Dimos Poulikakos and scientists from the National University of Singapore developed and tested various superhydrophobic materials with the goal of finding coatings for devices that come into contact with blood, such as heart-lung machines or artificial heart devices. Their findings are published in Nature Communications.

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One of the materials repelled blood and aided the clotting process. Although this made the material unsuitable for use as a coating for blood pumps and related devices, the researchers realised it would work as a bandage.

Repelling blood and achieving fast clotting are two different properties that are beneficial in bandages: blood-repellent bandages do not get soaked with blood and do not adhere to the wound, so they can be later removed easily, avoiding secondary bleeding. Substances and materials that promote clotting are used in medicine to stop bleeding as quickly as possible but to date no materials have simultaneously repelled blood whilst promoting clotting.