One in three patients who die in a hospital has sepsis. Sepsis occurs when the body's immune response to an infection or injury goes unchecked. Chemicals or proteins released into the blood lead to leaky blood vessels, inflammation and widespread blood clots. These conditions lead to impaired blood flow, which can cause organ damage and death. Now, researchers are developing a patent-pending treatment that could impact millions of lives each year.

Researchers at Purdue University (Lafayette, IN, USA) are developing biocompatible nanoparticles that treat sepsis systemically through intravenous injection. Polymyxin B, a traditional antibiotic, can inactivate endotoxins that cause a specific type of sepsis, but it may be too toxic for systemic application. For sepsis therapy, it mostly has been tested in extracorporeal blood cleaning, which is cumbersome and time consuming. In mouse models of sepsis, 100% treated with the nanoparticle were protected from excessive inflammation and survived.

"Our nanoparticle formulations reduce dose-limiting toxicity of Polymyxin B without losing its ability to inactivate endotoxins," said Yoon Yeo who is leading the research team developing the biocompatible nanoparticles that treat sepsis systemically through intravenous injection. "This technology holds promise as a safe, convenient option for patients and physicians."

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