A battlefield fix for one of medicine’s oldest emergencies could be as simple as a spray of powder.
Researchers at KAIST have developed a spray-on powder that stopped severe bleeding in about one second by turning into a strong hydrogel barrier when it hit blood. The team said the material was designed for battlefield conditions and could also be used in disasters, ambulances and hospitals.
Excessive blood loss is the leading cause of death from combat injuries, according to KAIST. The research team was led by Professor Steve Park of KAIST’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor Sangyong Jon of the Department of Biological Sciences.
The team created a powder-type hemostatic agent that quickly transforms into a strong hydrogel barrier when sprayed onto a wound. KAIST said the product was developed with real battlefield conditions in mind because an Army Major directly participated in the project.
The researchers said conventional patch-type hemostatic products can be hard to use on deep, irregular or complex wounds because of their flat design. They also said those products can be sensitive to temperature and humidity, which can complicate storage and field use.
To address that, the team developed a powder that can conform to wounds of many shapes and sizes. KAIST said a single product can be used on deep, large and uneven injuries.
The material, called AGCL powder, combines alginate, gellan gum and chitosan. According to KAIST, alginate and gellan gum react with calcium for very fast gelation and physical sealing, while chitosan bonds with blood components to improve hemostasis.
When the powder comes into contact with blood, it reacts with cations such as calcium and turns into a gel in about one second, rapidly sealing the wound, the researchers said. They also said its three-dimensional internal structure lets it absorb 725 percent of its own weight in blood.
KAIST said that helps it quickly block blood flow even during heavy, high-pressure bleeding. The researchers said the material outperformed commercially available hemostatic agents and reached adhesive strength greater than 40 kPa, which they said is strong enough to withstand firm hand pressure.
The team said laboratory testing showed a hemolysis rate below 3 percent, cell viability above 99 percent and an antibacterial effect of 99.9 percent. Animal studies also showed rapid wound healing and improved regeneration of blood vessels and collagen, according to KAIST.
In surgical liver injury experiments, the powder reduced blood loss and the time needed to stop bleeding compared with commercial hemostatic products, KAIST said. It also said liver function returned to normal within two weeks after surgery and researchers found no evidence of systemic toxicity.
The powder kept its performance for two years under room temperature and high humidity conditions, according to the researchers. KAIST said that means it can remain ready for immediate use in harsh military or disaster environments.
The researchers said the technology, first developed for national defense, could also be used in emergency medicine, disaster response, healthcare in developing countries and treatment in medically underserved regions. KAIST also said it may help control bleeding during internal surgery.
PhD candidate Kyusoon Park, an Army Major who took part in the research, stated, “The core of modern warfare is minimizing the loss of human life,” and added, “I started the research with a sense of mission to save even one more soldier.”
He continued, “I hope this technology will be used as a life-saving technology in both national defense and private medical fields.”
The study was led by KAIST PhD student Kyusoon Park and PhD candidate Youngju Son under the guidance of Professor Steve Park and Professor Sangyong Jon. It was published online on October 28, 2025, in Advanced Functional Materials and was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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