Uncontrollable
hemorrhage leads to high mortality and thus effective
bleeding control becomes increasingly important in the military field and civilian
trauma arena. However, current hemostats not only present limitation when treating major
bleeding, but also have various side effects. Here we report a self-expanding porous composites (CMCP) based on novel
carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) fibers and acetalized
polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) for lethal
hemorrhage control. The CMC fibers with uniform fibrous structure, high liquid absorption and procoagulant ability, are evenly interspersed inside the composite matrix. The obtained composites possess unique fiber-porous network, excellent absorption capacity, fast liquid-triggered self-expanding ability and robust
fatigue resistance, and their physicochemical performance can be fine-tuned through varying the CMC content. In vitro tests show that the porous composite exhibits strong blood clotting ability, high adhesion to blood cells and
protein, and the ability to activate platelet and the coagulation system. In vivo
hemostatic evaluation further confirms that the CMCP presents high
hemostatic efficacy and multiple
hemostatic effects in swine femoral artery major
hemorrhage model. Additionally, the CMCP will not fall off from the injury site, and is also easy to surgically remove from the
wound cavity after the hemostasis. Importantly, results of CT tomography and 3D reconstruction indicate that CMCP can achieve shape adaptation to the surrounding tissues and the
wound cavities with different depths and shapes, to accelerate hemostasis while protecting
wound tissue and preventing
infection.