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Thread: Scientists invent particles that will let you live without breathing

  1. #1

    Scientists invent particles that will let you live without breathing

    I just thought this was TOO cool!

    Scientists invent particles that will let you live without breathing

    This may seem like something out of a science fiction movie: researchers have designed microparticles that can be injected directly into the bloodstream to quickly oxygenate your body, even if you can't breathe anymore. It's one of the best medical breakthroughs in recent years, and one that could save millions of lives every year. The invention, developed by a team at Boston Children's Hospital, will allow medical teams to keep patients alive and well for 15 to 30 minutes despite major respiratory failure. This is enough time for doctors and emergency personnel to act without risking a heart attack or permanent brain injuries in the patient.

    The solution has already been successfully tested on animals under critical lung failure. When the doctors injected this liquid into the patient's veins, it restored oxygen in their blood to near-normal levels, granting them those precious additional minutes of life.


    Particles of fat and oxygen

    The particles are composed of oxygen gas pocketed in a layer of lipids, a natural molecule that usually stores energy or serves as a component to cell membranes. Lipids can be waxes, some vitamins, monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, or—as in this case—fats.

    These fatty oxygen particles are about two to four micrometers in size. They are suspended in a liquid solution that can be easily carried and used by paramedics, emergency crews and intensive care personnel. This seemingly magic elixir carries "three to four times the oxygen content of our own red blood cells."
    Similar solutions have failed in the past because they caused gas embolism, rather than oxygenating the cells. According to John Kheir, MD at the
    Department of Cardiology at Boston Children's Hospital, they solved the problem by using deformable particles, rather than bubbles:

    We have engineered around this problem by packaging the gas into small, deformable particles. They dramatically increase the surface area for gas exchange and are able to squeeze through capillaries where free gas would get stuck.

    Kheir had the idea of an injected oxygen solution started after he had to treat a little girl in 2006. Because of a lung hemorrhage caused by pneumonia, the girl sustained severe brain injuries which, ultimately, lead to her death before the medical team could place her in a heart-lung machine.

    Soon after, Kheir assembled a team of chemical engineers, particle scientists, and medical doctors to work on this idea, which had promising results from the very beginning:

    Some of the most convincing experiments were the early ones. We drew each other's blood, mixed it in a test tube with the microparticles, and watched blue blood turn immediately red, right before our eyes.

    It sounds like magic, but it was just the start of what, after years of investigation, became this real life-giving liquid in a bottle.
    This is what the future is about. And it's a beautiful one indeed, one that is arriving earlier than we ever could have expected. I wonder if this would find its way to other uses. I can see it as an emergency injection in a spaceship, for example. But what about getting a shot for diving? [ScienceDaily]

    I wonder if being able to take a shot for diving will ever be a possibility? A shot of that and a tail.. man oh man, there's my dream!

  2. #2
    Wow, that's really cool... I would love some of that! If it somehow became available for diving though, it'd probably be crazy expensive. On the other hand, diving equipment and certification is also crazy expensive...so...

  3. #3
    That's so cool
    Formerly known as "kimmie".

  4. #4
    New dream. So totally awesome.
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  5. #5
    dude. yes. gimme. now.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Pod of the Great Lakes Arella's Avatar
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    Okay in the future, mermaid colony? Yes?!

  7. #7
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    It's so brilliant on the medical plane alone, it will save lives, and that is awesome.

    But yes, the first time I heard of this, the first thought was how they could be nice for a mer to have. Second thought, it sounds so nice to my asthma riddled lungs. Too bad you can't buy them in an inhaler and use as desired.

  8. #8
    Nice, but does it keep reoxygenating once you surface, or is it a one shot deal? Lipids are also a problem for divers as they hold onto nitrogen longer than other tissues, so they'd make DCS problems.

  9. #9
    Senior Member North Pacific Pod Miyu's Avatar
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    Yes! I'd heard a little about this elsewhere. And from the wonderful folks at Boston Children's Hospital! I absolutely adore that hospital, my son was transferred there after being born far too early and having many problems. It was seriously the best hospital ever. So comforting and as least-scary as possible, they even have free reiki for both patients and parents! I donated some books to their awesome library, and try to continue to share the love with them as much as I can in honor of everything they did for my son. He may not have made it, but it certainly wasn't the wonderful staff's fault. Everyone there, EVERYONE, cares so much about what they do, it's just amazing. Less of a hospital and more of a community.

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