GlycoPatch: A Multifunctional Trauma Adhesive

About This Grant

Project Summary This proposal aligns with the National Institutes of Health's priority to develop new technologies that address critical gaps in trauma care; specifically, single-step solutions in resource-limited, rural and point-of-injury environments. This project aims to develop a multifunctional material, called GlycoPatch, as a solution to life- threatening traumatic injuries of visceral organs. Composed of pectin, a plant-derived branched-chain structural heteropolysaccharide, GlycoPatch has two features uniquely suited for extreme trauma care. First, GlycoPatch is a remarkably strong visceral organ sealant. Likely due to its structural homology with the mesothelial glycocalyx, GlycoPatch fuses with organ surfaces via polymer-chain entanglement. Chain entanglements generate rapid adhesion and a wound interface an order of magnitude stronger than existing sealants. Second, GlycoPatch is a hydrogel with a 3-dimensional network structure that provides a 30% “free volume.” This free volume can be loaded with bioactives including procoagulants or antibiotics. The applicants' central hypothesis is that the site-directed delivery of bioactives to a mechanically stable wound interface can dramatically increase local effectiveness and decrease systemic toxicity. The overall objective is to establish GlycoPatch as a single-step site-directed platform that can stabilize the wound as well as address the life- threatening issues including ongoing bleeding or uncontained infection. The applicants will test their hypothesis with two specific aims. Specific Aim 1 will embed recombinant Factor VIIa, tissue factor (Factor III), and/or tranexamic acid (TXA) into GlycoPatch and optimize clot kinetics using rotational thromboelastometry. The applicants will test optimized procoagulants for rapid and durable hemostasis in a staged large-animal hemorrhage model that mimics escalating Damage Control Surgery (DCS). Specific Aim 2 will evaluate loaded broad-spectrum antibiotics in modified Kirby–Bauer assays. The applicants will test the efficacy of optimized anti-bacterials on suture-free sealing, bacterial containment, and tissue regeneration in a murine cecal- puncture model of polymicrobial contamination. The applicants expect procoagulant-loaded GlycoPatch to double hemorrhage-control success and halve bleeding, while antibiotic-loaded GlycoPatch is projected to boost seven-day survival to ≥80 % and reduce ascitic colony counts by ≥1 log. By uniting mechanically robust adhesion with localized pharmacotherapy in a single, ready-to-use film, GlycoPatch introduces a new class of trauma therapeutics poised to save lives and diminish the burden of injury.