Fast acting hemostatic agent based on self-assembled hybrid nanofibers from chitosan and casein

Hemorrhage is a leading cause of preventable death in both military combat and civilian accidents. To overcome these challenges, an affordable and effective bandage is must required substance. A novel strategy is reported for developing chitosan-casein (CC) based self-assembled nanofibrous polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) for rapid blood clotting. The amide group (1630 cm^-1) and phosphate group (910 cm^-1) of chitosan-casein can form PEC at pH 8.2 ± 0.2. The PECs contain intertwined nanofibers (≤100 nm diameter) with a high surface area. Increasing chitosan percentage from 30% (CC30) to 50% (CC50) or 70% (CC70) results, increase in zeta potential of PEC from -9.14 ± 3.3 to 7.46 ± 3.7 and 14.8 ± 3.3 mV, respectively. Under in vitro conditions, the CC30, CC50, and CC70 PECs allow platelet adhesion and rapidly absorbs blood fluid to form mechanically stable blood clots within 9 ± 3, 16 ± 3, and 30 ± 4 s, respectively, which are better than Celox™ (90 ± 3 s). In vivo application of PEC (CC50) causes clotting within 37 ± 6 s of large (1 cm) arterial incision in rabbit models. The PEC is biocompatible with promising hemostatic efficiency. This is the first report of nanofibrous PEC from chitosan and casein for rapid clotting, to the best of our knowledge.