Fabrication of Hydrophobic Laponite Nanoclay‐Loaded Polycaprolactone Electrospun Membranes for Hemostatic Applications

ABSTRACT Death caused by uncontrolled bleeding is one of the most common causes worldwide, particularly in traffic accidents and surgical emergencies. Hence, hemostatic materials play a pivotal role in preventing such fatalities by rapidly promoting blood clotting and stabilizing the injury site that could save patient lives. In this study, our aim is to fabricate and characterize a hydrophobic hemostatic electrospun membrane based on polycaprolactone (PCL) integrated with different concentrations of laponite nanoclay (LAP). Multiple properties are tested, including morphological, physical, chemical, and biological properties. The fabricated membranes have a fiber size from 100 to 500 nm and a hydrophobic property with a water contact angle above 135°. The membrane strength is enhanced with a small amount of laponite, by 1.36 times compared to the PCL membrane without nanoclay. Furthermore, LAP concentrations of 20% and 40% demonstrate significant efficiency in in vitro hemostatic tests compared to other LAP membranes. In vivo hemostatic experiments with the liver incision model demonstrate that the blood clotting time and blood loss of the 40% LAP added PCL membrane are 70.67 ± 17.21 s and 4.70 ± 1.79 mg g −1 , respectively. All the fabricated membranes have not caused toxic and hemolytic activities in cytotoxic and hemolysis experiments. The results indicate that LAP@PCL membranes have great potential in hemostatic applications as hydrophobic membranes.