New Injectable Clotting Gel Can Make Infant Surgery Less Dangerous

Synthetic microgel reduces bleeding in infant-like clotting model and may reduce reliance on adult blood transfusions.

Apr. 5, 2026 at 11:51am

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Researchers have developed an injectable synthetic material designed to work with infant clotting biology rather than against it. In laboratory tests and an animal model, the engineered particles reduced bleeding by 50 to 60 percent and showed no signs of triggering dangerous clotting in the wrong places.

Why it matters

When a newborn requires surgery, the question of how to manage bleeding becomes more complicated than it is for adults or older children. Infant blood clots differently, and the standard approach of using adult blood products can raise the risk of thrombosis. This new material could address an unmet need and lower the mortality rate for infants undergoing surgery.

The details

The material, called B-knob triggered microgels or BK-TriGs, is made from a synthetic polymer designed to mimic the molecular interactions that are especially important in infant coagulation. The particles are engineered to engage the 'hole-b' sites on fibrinogen and fibrin molecules, promoting conformational changes that build a denser, more stable clot network. In tests, BK-TriGs were more effective at increasing clot density, slowing clot breakdown, and stiffening the clot in infant plasma compared to other materials.

  • The research findings were published online in the journal Science Advances in 2026.

The players

Ashley Brown

The Lampe Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and co-corresponding author on the study.

North Carolina State University

The university where the researchers developed the new injectable clotting gel.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The university where the researchers developed the new injectable clotting gel.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“Fibrin is the main clotting protein in human blood. There is a short amino acid sequence called a 'B peptide' that links together fibrin molecules to create blood clots where they are needed – and these B peptides play a particularly important role in hemostasis for infants.”

— Ashley Brown, Lampe Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering

“We found that the BK-TriGs outperformed any of the other options we tested at reducing blood loss. Specifically, the BK-TriGs reduced blood loss by 50-60% compared to the control group.”

— Ashley Brown, Lampe Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering

What’s next

The researchers plan to conduct head-to-head comparisons of BK-TriGs against currently available hemostatic treatments and validate the results using actual neonatal plasma and larger animal models before any path toward clinical testing could be established.

The takeaway

If the safety and efficacy profile of BK-TriGs holds through further testing, this synthetic material could address a genuine unmet need by reducing the volume of adult blood transfusions needed during infant surgery, lowering the risk of thrombosis and immunological complications.