Blood transfusions provide important medical benefits primarily centered on the replacement of lost blood in trauma and surgical patients.
However, the availability of blood transfusions in both hospital and field settings is limited by the safety and availability of the donated blood supply. Therefore, blood substitutes have long been sought as one way to alleviate these safety and availability concerns.
To date, current blood substitutes have met with modest clinical success against a backdrop of varied concerns regarding cardiac function, renal toxicity, and molecular stability. Recombinant oxygen-binding heme proteins incorporating circularly permuted globins address these issues through the promotion of cross-linking and the formation of hemoglobin multimers.
Recombinant DNA sequences coding for the hemoglobin protein have been modified to introduce new peptide linkers and termini. The resulting genetic cross-linking and covalent binding promote stability within individual hemoglobin molecules and the formation of high-weight hemoglobin multimers.
Applications
As a blood substitute in the treatment of traumatic injury in both hospital and field settings
Benefits
Increased safety and availability of blood substitutes for transfusion
Potential for increased stability and reduced toxicity in a recombinant protein due to the modifications that promote subunit cross-linking and the formation of hemoglobin multimers
Dr. John Rogers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed bioresorbable silicon electronics that can be used for real-time sensing of neural...
Dr. John Rogers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed bioresorbable silicon electronics that can be used for real-time sensing of neural electrical activity. This invention could prevent follow-up neural surgeries, and has potentials for long-term monitoring of patients.
Dr. Andrew Smith from the University of Illinois has developed new quantum dots with a multidentate polymer coating that minimizes size while maintaining stability and...
Dr. Andrew Smith from the University of Illinois has developed new quantum dots with a multidentate polymer coating that minimizes size while maintaining stability and improving efficiency of conjugation. Quantum dots are promising agents for cellular and molecular imaging, but their bulky organic coatings have limited their use in cells. Dr. Smith's quantum dots are small, stable, and can be conjugated to targeting molecules and purified easily.
Dr. Hergenrother from the University of IL has developed a novel antibiotic that is effective against certain antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria. His powerful...
Dr. Hergenrother from the University of IL has developed a novel antibiotic that is effective against certain antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria. His powerful predictive algorithm determines accumulation of molecules in Gram-negative bacteria and enables conversion of known Gram-positive only antibiotics into novel compounds with Gram-negative potency.