Mussel-inspired polysaccharide-based sponges for hemostasis and bacteria infected wound healing

Effective bleeding control and wound protecting from infection play critical roles in the tissue healing process. However, local hemostats are not involved in the whole healing processes to promote the final healing efficiency. Here, a multi-functional mussel-inspired polysaccharide-based sponge with hemostatic, antibacterial and adhesive properties was fabricated via cryopolymerization of oxidized dextran (OD), carboxymethyl chitosan (CC) and polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA-NPs), followed by lyophilization. Combining with the adsorbed thrombin, the sponges yielded a considerably lower amount of blood than the commercially available hemostatic dressings. Benefiting from the high photo-thermal transition efficiency of PDA-NPs, the sponges exhibited excellent antibacterial activity to both gram positive and negative bacteria. Owing to the rapid hemostatic activity and effective infection resistance, the sponges illustrated the significantly acceleratory wound healing efficiency compared with the control group. The thrombin-loaded OD/CC-PDA polysaccharide-based sponge has great potential for future clinical use as wound dressing.

Automated summary

This study successfully fabricated a multi-functional mussel-inspired polysaccharide-based sponge with hemostatic, antibacterial, and adhesive properties. The sponge, combined with thrombin, significantly reduced bleeding and exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against various bacteria. Due to its rapid hemostatic activity and effective infection resistance, the sponge achieved significantly accelerated wound healing efficiency compared to the control group.