Amirkabir University of Technology researchers have developed a novel product, a sponge as a blood clotting agent, using chicken feathers. According to the Public Relations Office of Amirkabir University of Technology, Gholamreza Goodarzi, one of the researchers involved in the project, referred to this project as the preparation of a porous biological sponge made from recycled keratin fibers for medical purposes.

He added: The main goal of this research was to utilize chicken feather waste as a rich source of keratin in the blood clotting agent, among other medical applications. The implementation of this project and the conversion of this waste into a completely practical structure aim to create added value.
Goodarzi stated: Millions of tons of chicken feathers are produced annually around the world, and their disposal by burying or burning leads to environmental pollution and the creation of greenhouse gases.
Furthermore, he emphasized that there is a great interest in sustainable new natural resources in biomedicine, where keratin is considered one of these resources. The product produced by Amirkabir University of Technology graduates, emphasizing its industrial potential, was noted to be competitive compared to commercial samples made from different materials and shows better performance.
He mentioned: Considering the abundance of chicken feather waste in our country, the production of this product is easily feasible. This research introduces a new structure of keratin extracted from chicken feather waste with high efficiency for use in blood clotting.
He emphasized: In this project, an efficient sponge for blood clotting was obtained using chicken feather waste from slaughterhouses.
He also mentioned that he has published two articles, one in an ISI journal with a Q1 ranking and the other in a scientific research journal, as part of the achievements of this study. He also noted that this thesis was recognized as one of the top theses by the Ministry of Science due to its novelty in creating a stable keratin sponge from chicken feather waste for blood clotting.
He mentioned that this sponge has been subjected to animal testing.
Goodarzi mentioned the advantages of this project, including the ability for domestic production and competition with the currently used blood clotting agents. He added: Another advantage of this project is the better efficiency of this product compared to its counterparts. Additionally, considering the low value of the raw material, namely chicken feather waste, and the cost-effectiveness of its production process can be emphasized.
This research project, under the guidance of Dr. Fatemeh Dadashian, a faculty member at Amirkabir University of Technology, along with Dr. Alireza Vatanara and consultation from Dr. Zargham Sepehri Zadeh, a faculty member at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, was implemented.
It is worth mentioning that this project was acknowledged as a demand-driven project by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology.