Polymer plug "LeGoo" approved in US for use during surgery
Blood vessels are traditionally blocked during surgery using clamps to pinch the vessel and stop blood flow. This can lead to damage and trauma of the artery. However, a new product called 'LeGoo' may make clamps a thing of the past.
SUNDAY, 6 NOVEMBER 2011
LeGoo is a polymer based product that is liquid at room temperature. When warmed by the body it rapidly forms a gel. If placed in a blood vessel, the result is a firm barrier or plug that stops the flow of blood through the vessel. The polymer used in LeGoo is a block copolymer poloxamer, which has three blocks with distinct properties. A hydrophobic (water-repelling) block, polypropyleneglycol, is sandwiched between two hydrophilic (water-loving) blocks of polyethyleneglycol. At high temperatures the hydrophilic blocks align and the polymer aggregates. This causes LeGoo to change phase from a liquid to a gel, creating the plug. This process can easily be reversed by cooling the polymer by a few degrees, e.g., by applying a little ice. The viscosity decreases, the molecules dissolve into the blood and safely pass out of the body, and blood flow can continue as normal.
![](mailto:?subject=Polymer plug "LeGoo" approved in US for use during surgery&body=https://bluesci.uk/posts/polymer-plug-legoo-approved-in-us-for-use-during-surgery <div class='caption'><div id="attachment_5266" align="alignright" width="144" caption="Human red blood cells"><a href="https://bluesci.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/RBC_micrograph1.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-5266 " title="From: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RBC_micrograph.jpg" src="https://bluesci.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/RBC_micrograph1.jpg" alt="" width="144" height="166" /></a></div></div>LeGoo is a polymer based product that is liquid at room temperature. When warmed by the body it rapidly forms a gel. If placed in a blood vessel, the result is a firm barrier or plug that stops the flow of blood through the vessel. The polymer used in LeGoo is a block copolymer poloxamer, which has three blocks with distinct properties. A hydrophobic (water-repelling) block, polypropyleneglycol, is sandwiched between two hydrophilic (water-loving) blocks of polyethyleneglycol. At high temperatures the hydrophilic blocks align and the polymer aggregates. This causes LeGoo to change phase from a liquid to a gel, creating the plug. This process can easily be reversed by cooling the polymer by a few degrees, e.g., by applying a little ice. The viscosity decreases, the molecules dissolve into the blood and safely pass out of the body, and blood flow can continue as normal.<br><br>Written by Katherine Thomas){kind=link}
