Blood-safe ECMO tubing using a special coating plus a targeted clotting blocker
Official title: Combined Use of Polycarboxybetaine Coatings with a Selective FXIIa Inhibitor to Create Potent Biomaterial Anticoagulation Without Bleeding During Extracorporeal Life Support
Funded at Carnegie-Mellon University · NIH-11091479 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A special surface coating plus a targeted clotting blocker aims to stop blood clots in ECMO machines without causing dangerous bleeding for people on life support with severe lung failure.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Carnegie-Mellon University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2022 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $615,042 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL157346-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11091479 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be adults with severe respiratory failure or ARDS who require ECMO support.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not need ECMO or whose bleeding/clotting problems are unrelated to device surface activation may not directly benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
This project is developing a two-part approach to make ECMO safer for patients like you. Researchers are coating ECMO tubing with a zwitterionic polycarboxybetaine (PCB) layer to prevent proteins and platelets from sticking, and combining that coating with a drug that selectively blocks activated factor XII (FXIIa) to prevent device-driven clotting. Early lab tests and sheep ECMO experiments show much less clotting on the circuit while preserving normal tissue clotting, which could reduce bleeding complications. The team plans additional preclinical work to move this toward clinical testing at hospital ECMO centers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reduce both dangerous circuit clots and bleeding complications for people on ECMO, improving survival and recovery chances.
How similar studies have gone: Similar surface-coating strategies and FXII/FXIIa-targeting approaches have shown promise in laboratory and animal ECMO models but are still early-stage and not yet proven in humans.
Where this research is happening
-
Carnegie-Mellon University
Pittsburgh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cook, Keith E — Carnegie-Mellon University
- Study coordinator: Cook, Keith E
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.