Injectable Thermochemical Micro-Explosion for Prompt Thrombolysis via Liquid Alkali Metal

TL;DR

This paper introduces a rapid, safe, and efficient injectable thermochemical therapy using liquid alkali metal encapsulated in silicone to dissolve blood clots within 90 seconds, outperforming current drugs without bleeding risks.

Contribution

The study presents a novel micro-explosive thermochemical approach with liquid alkali metal for prompt thrombolysis, demonstrating superior efficacy and safety over existing treatments.

Findings

Achieves thrombolysis in under 90 seconds.

Higher efficacy than urokinase with 10.87% residual thrombus.

No bleeding risks observed in the treatment.

Abstract

Thrombotic vascular diseases contribute to significant global mortality, yet current therapeutic strategies face persistent challenges including bleeding risks, suboptimal efficiency, and procedural complexity. Here, we report a micro-explosive thermochemical thrombolysis (METCT) therapy via injectable liquid alkali metal (LAM) encapsulated in dimethyl silicone (LAM@oil), which enables prompt, efficient and safe vascular recanalization within an ultrafast timeframe (< 90 seconds). This LAM@oil system effectively disrupts thrombus tissue through a synergistic triple-action mechanism: Mechanical micro-explosions forces, alkaline ablation due to highly localized exothermic chemical reactions, and thermal thrombolysis mediated by elevated temperature. Upon thrombolysis completion, the non-toxic reaction byproducts (sodium and potassium ions) exhibit physiologically biocompatible and metabolizable effects. Critically, the LAM@oil demonstrates significantly higher thrombolytic efficacy compared to clinically available thrombolytic drugs (residual thrombus area percent 10.87%+-7.16% for LAM@oil vs. 80.86%+-13.32% for urokinase), with no associated bleeding risks. This strategy opens a byproduct-free, cost-effective, and high-efficiency alternative to conventional thrombolytics, holding big potential for clinical translation in acute thrombosis management.