Mechanically enhanced chitosan hydrogels based on micellar cross-linking for wound hemostasis

Excessive blood loss caused by severe trauma is often life-threatening, so a kind of hemostatic material with superior performance is urgently needed to achieve rapid hemostasis of wounds. Here, we prepared CDCS/PF/PVA/Agar hydrogels by blending chitosan modified by catechol groups, PF127-NH 2 micelles, PVA and agarose. The hydrogel showed adjustable swelling and degradation properties. The CDCS/PF/PVA/Agar hydrogel exhibited exceptional mechanical properties with an elastic modulus of 351.4 kPa after four freeze-thaw cycles, surpassing traditional polysaccharide hydrogels by 7–20 fold. Its tissue adhesion strength reached 16.24 kPa in air and 11.23 kPa under wet conditions, enabled by catechol-mediated covalent bonding and amino group interactions. In vivo experiments demonstrated rapid hemostasis within 170 s in mouse liver injury models, reducing blood loss by 75.4 % compared to untreated controls. This study provides a robust strategy for designing polysaccharide hydrogels integrating mechanical resilience, rapid hemostasis, antibacterial activity, and biosafety, offering significant potential for clinical wound management.