Rapid Fluid-Induced-Expanding Chitosan-Derived Hemostatic Sponges with Excellent Antimicrobial and Antioxidant...

Chitosan-based materials are known for their excellent biocompatibility and inherent hemostatic properties. However, their hemostatic efficiency is significantly affected by poor wettability and mechanical strength. Herein, we developed a novel hemostatic super elastic sponge from mussel-inspired chitosan modified with long alkyl and catechol functional groups (HMCC) via a simple freezing-drying procedure. The incorporation of decanal and catechol in the HMCC sponge significantly enhances its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties and facilitates multiple interactions with blood cells, thus promoting their enrichment for rapid hemostasis. Moreover, HMCC sponges exhibit high compressibility and rapid fluid-induced size recovery capacity, enabling wound shape adaptation to ensure minimizing irritation. In vivo experiments revealed that HMCC sponges possessed enhanced procoagulant, hemostasis abilities, and favorable degradability and could promote wound healing in a rat skin wound model. These results highlight the potential of the HMCC sponge as a promising solution for the clinical management of major bleeding.