Chitosan oligosaccharide-loaded bacterial cellulose membrane for hemostatic dressing

Hemorrhagic shock is the leading cause of preventable deaths in traumatic accidents, emphasizing the significance of hemostasis-promoting materials and their incorporation into a pre-hospital medical response system. Bacterial cellulose has drawn much attention in tissue engineering due to its versatility and biocompatibility. In this study, a hemostatic dressing was composed of bacterial cellulose (BC) and chitosan oligosaccharide (COS), which is a well-known biological agent. The influence of chitosan oligosaccharide on the morphology, chemical, and physical properties of the fabricated cellulose membranes was evaluated. Additionally, the hemostatic performance of BC-COS membranes was investigated through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The results show that the addition of COS led to a lower mechanical strength while increasing the hemostatic properties of the BC membrane. The BC membrane modified with 2 w/v% COS solution (BC-COS2) demonstrated excellent hemostasis promotion through whole blood assays and mice hemorrhage model. The blood clotting index and blood clotting time of the BC-COS2 sample reached 86.25% and 190 s, respectively. Furthermore, in the in vivo experiments, the group treated using BC-COS2 also presented much lower bleeding stop time and blood loss compared to the untreated group. The results reveal the viability of the cellulosic material as a potential hemostatic dressing.