Beyond commercial hemostats: Montmorillonite-enriched alginate sponge for rapid hemostasis and wound infection prevention
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Despite advances in conventional hemostatic technologies, uncontrolled arterial bleeding and secondary infection remain clinical challenges and leading causes of trauma-induced fatalities. Hence, developing hemostatic materials that rapidly form resilient physical obstruction, trigger coagulation cascades, and combat bacterial infection is of importance. Herein, we engineered a multifunctional ultra-porous Alg/MMT sponge derived from alginate and enriched with montmorillonite (MMT) nanosheets serving as bioactive agents, utilizing gas-foaming, ionic crosslinking, and lyophilization processes. The sponge exhibited antibacterial effectiveness targeting S. aureus and E. coli , as evidenced by inhibition zone, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) assays. The fabricated Alg/MMT sponge demonstrated biocompatibility by maintaining high cell viability and promoting cell proliferation, as confirmed by MTT and DAPI assays. In-vitro evaluations revealed enhanced efficacy over EquiSpon® in blood clotting (9.15%), adherence of erythrocytes (94.50%) and platelets (87.30%), as well as clotting time of 19 s (P-value < 0.001). Through a femoral artery trauma model in rats, the Alg/MMT sponge delivered a hemostatic effect, reducing blood loss to 0.75 g and achieving hemostasis in 32.66 s—representing a 7.5-fold improvement compared to EquiSpon® (P-value < 0.001). Together, these characteristics highlight the Alg/MMT sponge as a reliable hemostatic agent for clinical environments.
Authors: Amir Behzadnia, Maryam Ghassemi, Ali Rezaie, Soumayeh Amirsaadat, Parinaz Nezhad-Mokhtari, Zahra Akbari Moghaddam, Somayeh Alimohammadi, Roya Salehi, Seyedhosein Jarolmasjed
Institutions: Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University North Tehran Branch, Tarbiat Modares University, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Research Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, Biotechnology Research Center, University of Tabriz
Language: English
Subfield: Hematology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,790
OpenAlex ID: W7115070870