ABSTRACT
Combat trauma-associated uncontrolled hemorrhage and coagulopathy remain the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the military. Overwhelming evidence from military based resuscitation studies has indicated that platelet transfusion can significantly reduce these events in prolonged field care scenarios. However, platelet transfusion suffers from unique logistical and functional challenges in a far forward military setting, due to (i) limited availability and portability of platelet concentrates, (ii) special storage requirements to minimize platelet activation and granulation, (iii) high risk of bacterial contamination and (iv) very short shelf-life (3-5 days). Furthermore, blood type compatibility issues can limit early intervention. Other platelet-derived products, e.g., frozen (-80C), cold-stored (4C) or lyophilized platelets and platelet membrane-derived vesicle technologies (e.g. Infusible Platelet Membrane and Thrombosome)may suffer from similar limitations and performance variabilities. These challenges have led to robust research efforts for creating a shelf-stable, highly portable, readily deliverable platelet substitute that can mimic platelet-mediated mechanisms of hemostasis, while avoiding systemic immunogenicity and off-target harmful effects. To this end, we have created a lipid-peptide conjugate based synthetic platelet technology(SynthoPlateTM, US patent 9107845, TRL 4), that mimics the inherent platelet-mediated mechanisms of primary and secondary hemostasis in a bleeding site-selective fashion, without presenting systemic risks.