Uncontrolled hemorrhage resulting from severe trauma or surgical operations remains a challenge. It is highly important to develop functional materials to treat noncompressible wound bleeding. In this work, a shape-recoverable macroporous nanocomposite hydrogel was facilely created through ice templating polymerization. The covalently cross-linked gelatin networks provide a robust framework, while the Laponite nanoclay disperses into the three-dimensional matrix, enabling mechanical reinforcement and hemostatic functions. The resultant macroporous nanocomposite hydrogel possesses an inherent interconnected macroporous structure and rapid deformation recovery. In vitro assessments indicate that the hydrogel displays good cytocompatibility and a low hemolysis ratio. The hydrogel shows a higher coagulation potential and more erythrocyte adhesion compared to the commercial gauze and gelatin sponge. The noncompressible liver hemorrhage models also confirm its promising hemostasis performance. This strategy of combining a nano-enabled solution with ice templating polymerization displays great potential to develop appealing absorbable macroporous biomaterials for rapid hemostasis.
Keywords: ice templating; macroporous nanocomposite hydrogel; noncompressible hemorrhage; shape recovery.