A Spray-on Gel Powder Could Help Medics Stop Bleeding from Deep Wounds in Seconds

Spray-on hydrogel seals severe wounds fast and may aid healing.

A hemorrhage turns time into the enemy: each second of uncontrolled bleeding can push the body closer to shock, organ failure and even death.

A KAIST research team has developed a spray-on powder that turns blood itself into part of the bandage, forming a sticky gel barrier in about one second. In early animal and laboratory tests, the material stopped severe bleeding faster than a commercial surgical hemostat and also appeared to help wounds heal. The new tool could one day help paramedics, surgeons, and battlefield medics control bleeding when gauze, pressure, or patches fall short.

Blood-Activated Powder

The material, called AGCL powder, comes from a Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) team led by Professor Steve Park and Professor Sangyong Jon, with Ph.D. students Youngju Son and Kyusoon Pak, an Army major, among the lead researchers.

Current bleeding-control products often come as patches or gauze. They can work well on flat, accessible injuries. But deep wounds, jagged tissue, and heavy bleeding all call for a material that can reach the injury, stick to wet tissue, and stay in place under pressure.

AGCL takes a different route entirely. It doesn’t try to pressure a wound in order to prevent blood from flowing out, but rather uses the blood itself as a barrier. A medic sprays or applies the dry powder directly onto the wound. Blood activates it.

The powder contains alginate, gellan gum and chitosan. Calcium ions in blood trigger alginate and gellan gum to form a gel. Chitosan helps the material bind to blood components and adds antibacterial activity.

In the study, AGCL absorbed about 725% of its own weight in blood and formed an adhesive hydrogel network within about one second. The researchers reported adhesion greater than 40 kilopascals in mixed-force testing, enough to resist strong manual pressure.

“The new AGCL powder reacts with cations, such as calcium in the blood, to turn into a gel state in one second, instantly sealing the wound,” Professor Steve Park said in a statement.

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Tested Against Bleeding, Bacteria and Time

The KAIST team tested AGCL in several models, including mouse liver, heart, and tail injuries, as well as a surgical liver injury model.

In the liver model, untreated bleeding lasted roughly 350 seconds. AGCL brought bleeding under control in about 13 seconds and reduced blood loss compared with TachoSil, a commercial surgical hemostat used as a benchmark. In heart puncture and tail amputation tests, the powder also shortened bleeding time and reduced blood loss.

The material did more than plug leaks. In skin and liver wound models, treated tissue showed faster closure, new blood vessel growth, and collagen deposition—a structural protein that helps rebuild damaged tissue.

Safety tests also looked encouraging. The study reported minimal red blood cell damage, high cell survival, and more than 99% antibacterial efficacy in lab tests. Liver function returned to normal within two weeks in the surgical model, and researchers saw no systemic toxicity in the animals.

The powder also held up in storage. The researchers kept it for 24 months under ordinary room conditions, including humidity swings, and found no meaningful drop in gelation speed or blood absorption.

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Still a Preclinical Technology

AGCL has not yet been approved for clinical use. The strongest results so far come from laboratory and animal tests, not human trials. Researchers must still prove in human trials that the powder works safely, show that manufacturers can produce it consistently, and determine how doctors should remove or manage it after treatment.

The most immediate application for AGCL is in the military, where swift medical care is paramount. But the researchers point out that AGCL will likely prove useful in all fields of medical practice.

“Although this is an advanced new material technology developed with national defense purposes in mind,” Major Kyusoon Park said.

He added, “I started the research with a sense of mission to save even one more soldier—but I also hope this technology will be used as a life-saving technology in private medical fields.”

The study was published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.