Novel amino-acid based metal–organic frameworks (Bio-MOFs) as hemostatic agents: Unveiling promising frontiers in hemostasis

Abstract

Haemorrhage remains a significant challenge in many medical emergencies. The coagulation cascade involves a complex series of reactions in the body to form blood clots, preventing excessive bleeding. Adequate and rapid hemostasis is critical to avoid excessive blood loss and improve patient outcomes. Various hemostatic agents are used in clinics which are known to enhance the innate hemostatic capability of the body, however, the effort to find better agents continues. The main component of the coagulation cascade involves the participation of certain metals (Ca2+, Mg2+, Zn2+) and amino acids (Glycine, Lysine and L-glutamic acid), which play a significant role in tightly controlling it. In this hypothesis, we propose to prepare amino acid-based bio-compatible metal–organic frameworks (AA-Bio-MOFs) where we intend to combine the endogenous amino acid as organic linkers and the biocompatible metal as nodes creating a well-defined structure. We expect these BioMOFs to be better haemostatic agents than traditional haemostatic materials due to their synergistic effect on the coagulation cascade and the significant reduction in their toxicity. Therefore, integrating amino acids and metal ions within a bio-compatible metal–organic framework (BioMOFs) could potentially add a new paradigm to the field of hemostasis.