Life saving medicine? Scientists develop spray-on powder that stops bleeding in one second, offers hope in war zones

A research team at KAIST, which included an active duty Army Major, aim to develop a quicker and more dependable method to control bleeding instantly, a leading cause of death in emergencies. Their effort resulted in a next-generation powder-based hemostatic agent that can stop bleeding within a second when sprayed directly onto a wound, potentially saving lives on the battlefield.

On December 29th, KAIST said a joint team led by Professor Steve Park of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor Sangyong Jon from the Department of Biological Sciences had developed a powder-based hemostatic agent, which rapidly forms a strong hydrogel barrier. Once applied to an injured part of the body, it transforms in about one second, immediately sealing the injury.

Developed with real battlefield conditions in mind, the technology benefits from the Army Major’s direct involvement to ensure practical usability. The agent hardens instantly even in extreme environments such as combat zones or disaster sites and remains stable during storage, allowing rapid deployment in emergency care, according to a report in SciTechDaily.

PhD candidate Kyusoon Park (Army Major), who participated in the research, said, “The core of modern warfare is minimising the loss of human life,” and added, “I started the research with a sense of mission to save even one more soldier.” He continued, “I hope this technology will be used as a life-saving technology in both national defence and private medical fields.”

A patch-type hemostatic products often used as medicine to treat deep or irregular wounds because of its flat shape. It is also sensitive to heat and moisture, limiting its storage and use in demanding settings.

‘AGCL powder’

To overcome these issues, the KAIST team came up with the hemostatic agent in the form of powder that can be applied to wounds of any shape and sizes as well as deep or uneven. A single formulation can also be utilised in a wide range of injury types, which can improve flexibility in emergency care.

The ‘AGCL powder’, which has been developed possess a structure in combination of biocompatible natural materials that include Alginate and Gellan Gum (which react with calcium for ultra-fast gelation and physical sealing) as well as Chitosan (which bonds with blood components to enhance chemical and biological hemostasis). It works in the body after reacting with cations such as calcium in the blood in order to turn into a gel state in one second, quickly sealing the wound.

AGCL powder is made entirely from natural materials and is safe for use with blood, with tests showing a hemolysis rate below 3 per cent, cell viability above 99 per cent, and antibacterial effectiveness of 99.9 per cent. In surgical liver injury trials, it significantly reduced blood loss and shortened the time needed to stop bleeding compared to existing commercial hemostatic agents. Liver function returned to normal within two weeks after surgery, and no signs of systemic toxicity were detected.

While the technology was developed primarily for national defence applications, it holds strong promise for broader use in emergency medicine, including disaster response, developing regions and underserved healthcare settings. The innovation is also seen as a notable example of defence-driven science successfully transitioning to civilian use, with applications ranging from battlefield emergency care to internal surgical bleeding control.