Poly(γ-glutamic acid), coagulation? Anticoagulation?

Poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA) powder was usually used as hemostatic agent because of its excellent physical properties of water-absorption and water-locking. However, if γ-PGA absorbs enough water, how about its blood compatibility? Here, the other side of the coin was investigated. The anticoagulant properties of γ-PGA were characterized by in vitro coagulation tests, hemolytic assay, platelet adhesion, and platelet activation. Moreover, cytotoxicity experiments of γ-PGA were also carried out by MTT assay. Results indicated that the sufficient water-absorbed γ-PGA has good anticoagulant property and non-cytotoxicity. It means γ-PGA has good anticoagulant property, non-cytotoxicity. If γ-PGA has absorbed enough water, it can be used as an anticoagulation biomaterial. With double effects (coagulation and anticoagulation), the γ-PGA with desirable bioproperties can be readily tailored to cater to various biomedical applications.