Clotting Mimicry from Robust Hemostatic Bandages Based on Self-Assembling Peptides

Abstract

Uncontrolled bleeding from traumatic wounds is a major factor in deaths resulting from military conflict, accidents, disasters and crime. Self-assembling peptide nanofibers have shown superior hemostatic activity, and herein, we elucidate their mechanism by visualizing the formation of nanofiber-based clots that aggregate blood components with a similar morphology to fibrin-based clots. Furthermore, to enhance its direct application to a wound, we developed layer-by-layer assembled thin film coatings onto common materials used for wound dressings—gauze and gelatin sponges. We find these nanofibers elute upon hydration under physiological conditions and generate nanofiber-based clots with blood. After exposure to a range of harsh temperature conditions (−80 to 60 °C) for a week and even 5 months at 60 °C, these hemostatic bandages remain capable of releasing active nanofibers. In addition, the application of these nanofiber-based films from gauze bandages was found to accelerate hemostasis in porcine skin wounds as compared to plain gauze. The thermal robustness, in combination with the self-assembling peptide’s potent hemostatic activity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low cost of production, makes this a promising approach for a cheap yet effective hemostatic bandage.

Active nano/microbilayer hemostatic agents for diabetic rat bleeding model

“…For example, Kumar et al reported that snake venom laded self‐assembling nanofibrous peptide hydrogel is a facile method for surgical hemostasis . Similarly, Hsu et al showed that self‐assembling peptides, especially RADA16‐I, are highly effective in generating in hemostasis with a hemostasis time of <10 s . In their study, an antibiotic released self‐assembled film developed for rapid hemostat .…”

Engineered isopeptide bond stabilized fibrin inspired nanoscale peptide based sealants for efficient blood clotting

“…The self-assembling peptides have ability to coagulate blood by forming nanofiber to entrap blood corpuscles 14 . We examined the formation of blood clot by designed sealants using scanning electron microscopy (Fig.…”

“…Ideally, such nature-inspired sealants should be biocompatible and biodegradable with minimal inflammatory response 5–13 . The natural process of blood clotting involves entrapment of blood corpuscles and platelets by fibrin 14, 15 . Fibrin is formed due to thrombin mediated polymerization and factor XIIIa induced intermolecular isopeptide bond mediated cross-linking of fibrinogen 4, 16–21 .…”

Rapid and efficient sprayed multilayer films for controlled drug delivery

“…By sequentially immersing substrates in polymer solutions with complimentary intermolecular interactions (e.g., electrostatic, hydrogen, covalent, etc. ), one can generate robust thin films composed of a broad set of materials like inorganics, micro‐to‐nanoparticles, biologics, peptide nanofibers, and small molecules . These films can have diverse applications, which have been well reviewed .…”

“…While there are a number of reports showing the viability of Spray‐LbL with polypeptides and polysaccharides, there remains a dearth of Spray‐LbL assembled controlled drug release systems. The limited examples include release of vancomycin, thrombin, self‐assembled peptides, and dexamethasone, which have shown the promise of this technique. Herein, we describe improvements to the current Spray‐LbL approach of film assembly by designing individual containment chambers for each aerosolized solution, which allows them to be separately collected and analyzed or returned to their original reservoir (i.e., recycling the solution).…”