The physiologic process of blood clot formation is well understood and occurs naturally in the setting of tissue injury to achieve hemostasis and begin the process of wound healing. While the investigation of blood clots as a biomaterial is still in the early stages, there has been some research with similar biomaterials made of the components of blood clots that support the innovative idea of using an autologous blood clot as a scaffold or delivery method for therapeutic agents. Here, we review the physiology of blood clots in wound healing and how using blood clots as a biomaterial and delivery system can potentially promote wound healing, provide targeted therapeutic agent delivery and use it as an innovative tool in regenerative medicine.
Keywords: biomaterials; blood clots; compounds; regeneration; tissue repair.
Wounds and tissue injuries are unfortunately still common, and research is very active in trying to discover ways to augment the healing process. Various biomaterials have been developed and studied to analyze their therapeutic potential in promoting regeneration of different tissues in the human body. The formation of blood clots is a natural process that occurs in response to tissue injury, and there has been recent work to investigate the utility of blood clots as therapeutic adjuncts. The practicality of obtaining blood clots, along with the feasibility of integrating therapeutic agents into them, make blood clots an attractive tool in regenerative medicine to be explored. This review article synthesizes current research on blood clot biology, physiology and potential therapeutic utility.