Snake venom inspires coagulant gel

Known as SB50, the substance is described in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering. The snake venom batroxobin is combined with nanofibre hydrogels from the Rice lab. According to the researchers, it is first injected as a liquid, then quickly transforms into a gel on the site of a wound, conforming to its shape to promote clotting.

“It’s interesting that you can take something so deadly and turn it into something that has the potential to save lives,” said Rice chemist Jeffrey Hartgerink.

Batroxobin is a haemotoxin that has similar properties to thrombin, a naturally occurring enzyme in humans that plays an important role in clotting. First recognised in 1936 for its coagulant capabilities, batroxobin is particularly useful for treating patients who have taken the anti-coagulant drug heparin.

“There’s a lot of different things that can trigger blood coagulation, but when you’re on heparin, most of them don’t work, or they work slowly or poorly,”  Hartgerink said in a statement.