Sponges with Janus Character from Nanocellulose: Preparation and Applications in the Treatment of Hemorrhagic Wounds

Abstract

The development of a rapid and effective hemostatic dressing is highly desired in the treatment of hemorrhagic wounds. In this study, sponges with Janus character are developed using cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) that exhibit materials facets of different wettability characteristics using heterogeneous mixing and freeze−drying. The bonding of the interface between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic facets is achieved by using interpenetrating chemical cross‐linking between CNFs and organosilanes. The hydrophilic layer absorbs water from blood and works synergistically with the inherent hemostatic chitosan‐rich complementary layer to accelerate blood clotting, displaying both active and passive hemostatic mechanisms. The hydrophobic layer prevents blood penetration into the construct and exerts proper pressure on the wound. Compared with the hydrophilic control samples and commercial gauzes, the Janus sponges can achieve effective bleeding control with nearly 50% less blood loss in a femoral artery injury model and prolong the survival time in a carotid artery injury model. Compared with the only hydrophilic layer, the time to hemostasis of Janus sponge are reduced from 165 ± 20 to 131 ± 26 s in femoral artery injury model and from 102 ± 21 to 83 ± 15 s in liver femoral artery injury model.

A Review on Cellulose-based Materials for Biomedicine

“…The surface properties of cellulose-based wound materials can be modified via several methods, such as cross-linking with silane-based reagents [220]. The material was investigated for wounds for femoral artery and liver injury models.…”

“…and accelerated the process of blood clotting. It offered a short time for hemostasis for both models [220]. The high surface charge of cellulose nanomaterials enhanced the protein adsorption and could promote cell adhesion [162].…”

Green hemostatic sponge-like scaffold composed of soy protein and chitin for the treatment of epistaxis

“…Besides, the microstructure of the developed scaffolds could promote appropriate cell adhesion and proliferation, while remaining totally biocompatible. Even if several biopolymeric sponges has already been developed for the treatment of hemorrhagic wounds [ [19] , [20] , [21] ], hardly any of them seems to be directed towards the treatment of epistaxis [ 22 , 23 ], and none of them employs valorized products for its manufacturing.…”

Multifunctional Ginger Nanofiber Hydrogels with Tunable Absorption: The Potential for Advanced Wound Dressing Applications

“… 14 In recent years, nanofiber-based hydrogels have been exploited for wound dressing applications. 15 − 20 However, to achieve the desired multifunctional properties, such as swelling combined with mechanical stability, the preparation procedures of these hydrogels are often complex involving cellulose nanofibers in combination with several different components such as alginate, 16 chitosan, 17 , 19 and cross-linking agents 16 , 19 for the stability.…”