Evaluation of Hemostatic Effects of Carbonized Hair-Loaded Poly(L-Lactic) Acid Nanofabrics

Carbonized human hair is used to stop bleeding in traditional Chinese medicine. The present study was aimed to prepare a novel nanofiber containing carbonized human hair and evaluate its hemostatic effect. Carbonized human hair-loaded poly(L-lactic) acid nanofiber was prepared by electrospinning. The hemostatic efficacies of dressings composed of either carbonized human hair, carbonized human hair-loaded poly(L-lactic) acid nanofiber, Yunnan White Drug power or poly(L-lactic) acid nanofiber were investigated in several swine arterial and venous bleeding models. Blood loss and bleeding time were measured. In vitro, carbonized human hair, carbonized human hair-loaded nanofiber and Yunnan White Drug Powder significantly shortened the clotting time in comparison with the nanofiber control group. The hemostatic effects of the carbonized human hair-load nanofiber on liver and spleen traumatic wounds were better than those of carbonized human hair and Yunnan White Drug Powder in terms of blood loss and bleeding time. Similar effects were observed in swine femoral artery wound model. In the swine femoral vein wound model, bleeding could not be stopped in the control animals. In the carbonized human hair group, Yunnan White Drug Powder group and carbonized human hair-load nanofiber group, bleeding was stopped in 83.3%, 83.3% and 100% of the animals, respectively. In conclusion, dressing using carbonized human hair-load nanofibers is effective in controlling severe, uncontrolled bleeding. This dressing may offer a cheap alternative to dressings composed of coagulation proteins.