Fabrication of hydroxypropyl chitosan/soy protein isolate hydrogel for effective hemorrhage control.

Zhao, Yanan; Xiao, Ao; Wu, Ping; Chen, Feixiang; Zhang, Qiang; Liang, Xiao; Han, Xinwei; Shi, Xiaowen; Li, Yinping; Chen, Yun

Hemostatic materials is increasingly important in civilian and military clinical. In this work, a hydrogel was fabricated from hydroxypropyl chitosan (HPCS) and soy protein isolate (SPI) via the crosslinking of epichlorohydrin. Effects of SPI content on the structure, physical and biological properties of the prepared hydrogels were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, water uptake testing, mechanical properties testing, MTT assay, hemolysis ratio testing and routine blood coagulation test. The results indicated that the hydrogels showed high water uptake ability and compressive strength. The in vitro biocompatibility evaluation revealed that the hydrogel contains 30% SPI content (HCSH-30) could promote blood coagulation and cell proliferation. Furthermore, the hemostatic model of liver in New Zealand rabbit was applied to assess the hemostatic efficacy of the hydrogels. The results demonstrated that HCSH-30 stopped bleeding in 75±1.63 s and improved hemostasis as compared to medical gauze. Thus, the hydroxypropyl chitosan/soy protein isolate hydrogel is expected to be a potential candidate for effective hemorrhage control.