Nitric oxide is a reactive gas that plays a role in many body processes. In the circulatory system, for example, it acts as a signal that promotes the relaxation of smooth muscle around blood vessels, causing them to dilate, which improves blood flow.

Because of nitric oxide’s importance, and because diabetics do not produce enough of it (which contributes to poor circulation and other problems), researchers have long tried to develop ways to deliver it from outside the body. But nitric oxide is so reactive, and thus short-lived, that delivering it is difficult. So the focus has been on developing materials that can hold and release it over time.

Zeolites, incorporated into cloth wraps, could be used to store and release nitric oxide. Credit American Chemical Society

Harvey A. Liu and Kenneth J. Balkus Jr. of the University of Texas at Dallas have come up with a novel delivery system: a timed-release bandage.

As they describe in a paper in Chemistry of Materials, the researchers use a zeolite, an aluminosilicate mineral that has a three-dimensional cage structure. Zeolites have been shown to be able to store and release nitric oxide and other chemicals. They embed the mineral in fibers of a biocompatible polymer, polylactic acid, as they are spun and form a tissue-like mat. The fibers are then infused with nitric oxide; by controlling the porosity of the fibers, the researchers could control the release of the gas.

The researchers say the resulting material could be incorporated into socks for diabetics that would deliver nitric oxide through the skin. It might also prove useful before transplants as a wrapping for organs to help preserve them outside the body for longer..

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