Glass in a wound? Missouri S&T scientist will study how the material helps patients heal

A Missouri University of Science and Technology scientist will soon travel to South Africa to study how powdered glass could heal wounds and prevent infections.

Mark Towler, a chemical and biochemical engineering professor at the university, has for years worked to investigate how powdered glass can stop bleeding in injuries caused by car accidents, gunshots and stab wounds.

He has patented a unique form of the material that is very porous. In South Africa, he and other scientists at the University of Western Cape will test whether that material will decrease infections and encourage blood clotting.

“It will be great to have a material that stops a bleed very quickly, like our material does,” Towler said. “But it'd be even better if that material can then stop any further infections due to that site being an open wound.”

Towler plans to leave for South Africa next year.

Large wounds that require a substance to help clotting also put a person at risk of infection, he said. There’s evidence the porous glass powder starts a reaction that releases zinc and other antibacterial elements as it degrades.

Many might cringe when they envision putting glass into an injury. But Towler said for decades the material has been used to regenerate bones and assist in wound care.