A method for systematically evaluating the hemostatic ability of hydrogels in vitro

The bursting strength is a key parameter to assess hemostatic ability of tissue sealants. It is associated to mechanical property of the materials, the binding strength of the materials to the tissues as well as the applied conditions of the materials, such as temperature and wound size. Few works have systematically investigated the relationship of the hemostatic ability of hydrogels with the factors listed above. This study introduced a method to systematically investigate the effect of the thickness, covered area and components of hydrogels, and the applied conditions on the bursting strength of hydrogels. The gelatin hydrogel and fibrin glue were used in this study. The method quantitatively investigated the effect of material properties and applied conditions on the bursting strength of materials. It also suggested a minimum dosage of tissue sealant used in both animal study and clinical practice. This study proved that the method we proposed is reliable to assess the bursting strength of materials for the hemostatic application.