Scientists a step closer to creating artificial blood

Scientists have created hydrogel particles with some of the key characteristics of red blood cells, which may help in the development of artificial blood.

The hydrogel particles could also lead to more effective ways to treat life threatening medical conditions, such as cancer.

A team from the University of North Carolina (UNC) managed to synthesise hydrogel nanoparticles, of just six micrometres in diameter, which mimicked the size, shape and flexibility of red blood cells.

Previous attempts to create red blood cells have proved difficult because, unlike natural blood cells, artificially created cells were quickly filtered out of circulation when they lost their flexibility and could no longer pass through pores in the spleen.

The researchers tested the hydrogel particles to find out if they could circulate in the blood without being filtered out by various organs.

When tested in mice, the most flexible hydrogel particles remained in the bloodstream for 30 times longer than the least flexible ones. The most flexible particles also ended up being filtered out of the bloodstream by the spleen, like real blood cells.

However, researchers still have to determine whether the particles can transport oxygen around the body.

Professor Joseph DeSimone from UNC, who co-led the study, said: "Creating particles for extended circulation in the blood stream has been a significant challenge in the development of drug delivery systems from the beginning.

"Although we will have to consider particle deformability along with other parameters when we study the behaviour of particles in the human body, we believe this study represents a real game changer for the future of nanomedicine."

The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This article was published on Tue 11 January 2011