Tissue sealants are used for hemorrhage control which is imperative in many surgical procedures. It is a highly challenging task to obtain the ideal tissue sealant. Only a few commercially tissue sealants are available to be used for internal tissue or organ hemorrhage control. This study introduced two in situ injectable hydrogels for hemorrhage control: self-crosslinking gelatin (sc-G) hydrogel and hyaluronic acid/gelatin (HA/G) hydrogel. They were prepared on the tissue surface in situ and characterized by rheological analysis, stability, cytotoxicity, and bursting strength test. The hemostatic ability of the hydrogels was evaluated in a liver-bleeding rat model. The sc-G and HA/G hydrogels gelled around 90 s and 50 s, respectively. They were preferable for cell attachment and proliferation. The bursting strengths of both hydrogels exceeded that of fibrin glue. The hemostatic ability of HA/G hydrogel was better than that of sc-G hydrogel, and was same as that of fibrin glue. The HA/G hydrogel could be used as a tissue sealant for hemorrhage control in clinic.
Keywords: Chemical crosslinking; Gelatin; Hemorrhage control; Hyaluronic acid; Injectable hydrogel.
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