The development of biodegradable and antibacterial hemostatic materials with high blood absorption to halt the internal hemorrhage of deep noncompressible wounds remains a challenge. In this study, a novel hemostatic nanocomposite (OBC/COL/CS) was fabricated by coupling oxidized bacterial cellulose (OBC) and chitosan (CS) with collagen (COL), that is, during the electrostatic self-assembly of OBC with CS (OBC/CS), COL was ingeniously attached as a functional component by the electrostatic attraction of cationic CS and anionic OBC. The introduction of collagen was anticipated to provide functional properties such as enhanced hemostasis and promotion of wound healing so as to achieve a new functional composite. This study is the first to evaluate the performance of OBC, OBC/CS, and the OBC/COL/CS composite for rapid internal hemostasis using a rat liver injury model. To our knowledge, this is also the first study to report that OBC has a faster biodegradability in vivo than commercial hemostatic oxidized regenerated plant cellulose (ORC). The OBC/COL/CS nanocomposite exhibited appropriate mechanical strength, broad spectrum antimicrobial properties, and excellent biodegradation in vivo. Furthermore, excellent hemostatic efficacy of the composite was confirmed in vivo. OBC/COL/CS exhibited greater procoagulant properties and blood-clotting capability, higher adhesion of erythrocytes and platelets with concomitant lower blood loss, in addition to ultrafast cessation of bleeding, superior to the commercial hemostatic ORC product Surgicel gauze. The results suggest that the OBC/COL/CS is a fast and efficient procoagulant agent with good antibacterial properties and great potential for use as an absorbable hemostat for control of internal bleeding.
Keywords: absorbable biomaterial; chitosan; collagen; fast hemostasis; oxidized bacterial nanocellulose; wound healing.