UC San Diego

The purpose of this study is to confirm the effectiveness of nitric oxide (NO) encapsulated nanoparticles as a viable therapeutic treatment for hemorrhagic shock (HS) relative to gaseous delivery and to elucidate the optimal nanoparticle concentration for dosing. To gauge its effectiveness, results for the treatment using the NO nanoparticles were compared to results from HS experiments done using gaseous inhalation of NO. All treatment groups used Hextend® as a volume expander. All experiments were performed with a 50% blood volume HS hamster window model and the parameters tracked were as follows: mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), functional capillary density (FCD), blood flow & diameters of arterioles & venules, blood gas parameters (pH, base excess (BE), pO₂, pCO₂), and blood plasma measurements (nitrates, nitrites, s-nitrosothiols). The results of our experiments show that NO encapsulated nanoparticles, when used with Hextend® in the 50% blood volume HS hamster window model, were effective in treating circulatory deficits brought on by HS. The optimal concentration was found to be at 15 mg/kg hamster weight. In addition, the results elude to the NO nanoparticles being 5-10% more effective than gaseous inhalation of NO for equivalent conditions and parameters. However, more experiments would be necessary to confirm this observation