Introduction: Excessive blood loss is a major issue during injuries which accounts for 10% of mortality and exerts an economic burden on public health. An ideal hemostatic dressing must contain clotting efficiency, antimicrobial activity, and antioxidant properties. Cotton gauze is most commonly used first aid material. However, it lacks inherent antimicrobial and hemostatic activity, limiting its widespread application. This study was carried out to functionalize cotton surfaces with natural ingredients such as sodium alginate (SA) and tannic acid (TA). SA is a natural biopolymer with high absorption capacity, hemostatic activity, and rapid wound healing properties, making it suitable for various biomedical applications. TA, an FDA-approved plant polyphenol, is known for its antimicrobial and mucoadhesive properties. Combining both agents may result in the fabrication of multifunctional hemostatic material.
Methods: SA-based blend membranes were prepared with varying concentrations of glycerol and optimised with different physicochemical characterisations, such as contact angle, SEM, XRD, and mechanical studies. Further, different concentrations of TA were added to the optimised SA:Gly blend to impart hemostatic and antimicrobial activity. These blends were coated on cotton fabric using a dip-coating method.
Results: The prepared membranes exhibited an exponential increase in flexibility with an increase in glycerol content due to the plasticisation effect. An increase in the amorphous nature of the membranes was observed due to the polymer chain relaxation upon glycerol incorporation. Antimicrobial analysis revealed more than 95% viable colony reduction. Furthermore, fabricated dressings showed a significant deposition of blood components on the surface and over 85% cell viability, suggesting their excellent hemostatic and biocompatible nature.
Conclusion: This study revealed that the fabricated dressings hold great potential for utilisation in hemostatic activity with infection-resistant properties in the near future.
