Synthesizing Blood Platelets
August 7, 2012 | Terry Sharrer
Bioengineers at the University of California-Santa Barbara, the Scripps Research Institute and the Sanford-Burnham Institute have succeeded in creating synthesized blood platelets. They began with polymer templates on which they deposited layers of proteins resembling natural platelets. They then dissolved the templates, and coat the particles with more proteins. Besides the obvious application of controlling bleeding, synthetic platelets might be used to deliver imaging agents or drugs. MORE
Image Credit: Peter Allen and Science Daily