Nanocomposite Reinforced Powder With Fast Self-gelling and Robust Wet Adhesive Performances for Acute Hemostasis and Wound Repair

Abstract

Severe trauma and uncontrolled hemorrhage present significant challenges in achieving hemostasis. Considering the limitations of current hemostatic materials, such as inadequate wet tissue adhesion, prolonged hemostasis time, and insufficient antimicrobial properties, a robust adhesive double cross-linked nano-composite hydrogel powder is developed, consisted of polyacrylic acid (PAA), ɛ-Poly-L-lysine (PLL) and layered double hydroxides (Mg-Al LDH, hereinafter referred to as LDH). The obtained PLL-PAA/LDH composite hydrogel powder exhibited rapid gelation, strong mechanical properties, and superior wet adhesion. Additionally, it offered excellent biocompatibility and antimicrobial properties. In various injury models involving rats and rabbits, the hemostatic performance of the adhesive PLL-PAA/LDH hydrogel powder surpassed that of commercially available n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (NBCA) from 3 m. Notably, the introduction of LDH enhanced the interfacial toughness of the gel system and significantly improved its adhesive properties, demonstrating remarkable hemostatic efficacy across different injury models. Furthermore, in models of rat skin incisions and full-thickness infected skin wounds, the composite hydrogel powder exhibited superior seamless suturing and repair effects compared to commercial products. Overall, this study aims to elucidate the biomedical potential of PLL-PAA/LDH composite hydrogel powder for applications in hemostatic sealing, seamless suture prevention of acute bleeding, and wound healing.

Keywords: double crosslinked hydrogel; hemostasis; rapid gelation; strong adhesion; tissue repair.