Polydopamine-Coated Silk Fiber with Controllable Length for Enhanced Hemostatic Application

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Developing effective hemostatic materials with high biocompatibility is crucial for medical applications.
• Silk fibroin (SF) is a promising biomaterial, but its hemostatic properties require enhancement.
• Polydopamine (PDA) offers versatile functionalization capabilities for biomaterials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel hemostatic fiber material based on silk fibroin (SF) with enhanced performance and biocompatibility.
• To investigate the effect of polydopamine (PDA) incorporation via alkaline treatment on SF fiber properties.
• To evaluate the hemostatic efficacy of PDA-coated SF fibers in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo.

Main Methods:

• Silk fibroin (SF) fibers were treated with alkaline solutions containing polydopamine (PDA).
• Fiber length was controlled by adjusting alkaline concentration during the PDA incorporation process.
• Hemostatic performance was assessed through in vitro clotting assays, ex vivo animal models, and in vivo studies (mouse liver puncture and femoral vein incision models).

Main Results:

• PDA-coated SF fibers exhibited significantly enhanced hemostatic ability compared to unmodified SF fibers.
• The length of PDA-coated SF fibers could be precisely controlled by varying alkaline treatment concentrations.
• In vivo studies showed reduced blood loss with PDA-coated SF fibers compared to a commercial hemostat powder.

Conclusions:

• PDA-assisted alkaline treatment is an effective method for creating highly biocompatible and performant hemostatic SF fibers.
• The developed PDA-coated SF fibers demonstrate significant potential for clinical hemostatic applications.
• Controllable fiber length offers an advantage for tailored hemostatic interventions.