Bioinspired non-oriented bead-on-string starch-based nanofibrous membranes with immobilized halloysite nanotubes for high-performance hemostasis

Uncontrolled hemorrhage is one of the leading causes of traumatic death, while conventional clay hemostats carry insufficient procoagulant activity, poor adhesion, weak anti-dispersion capability, and the potential risk of distal thrombosis. Inspired by nasal cilia particle capture, poly(vinyl alcohol)/quaternized starch (PVA/QSt) nanofibrous membranes with Oriented (NFM O), Oriented bead-on-string (NFM-OB), Non-oriented bead-on-string (NFM-NOB), and Non-oriented (NFM-NO) four different structures, were fabricated by electrospinning in this study. The results showed that the random beaded nanofibrous membrane (NFM-NOB) exhibited the best hemostatic performance. Based on this structure, we then proposed an integrated “structure regulation-component synergy” strategy and fabricated halloysite nanotubes (HNTs)-reinforced PVA/quaternized starch (HPQ) nanofibrous membranes via in situ electrospinning. By regulating the HNTs content, a series of HPQ nanofibrous membranes were prepared. The optimal HPQ-40 achieved rapid hemostasis with an ultra-low particle loss rate of 1.2% ( vs. 68.4% for QuikClot®) and 7.2 g/g blood absorption capacity. It achieved hemostasis through triple synergies: platelet capture by non-oriented, bead-on-string fibers via topological interlocking, rapid plasma absorption/intrinsic pathway activation by the hollow tubular structure of HNTs, and electrostatic erythrocyte aggregation/antibacterial activity by positively charged QSt. In rat liver laceration and femoral artery puncture models, HPQ-40 shortened hemostatic time by 52.9% and 58.9%, and reduced blood loss by 82.1% and 77.6%, respectively, with excellent biocompatibility. This study provides important experimental evidence and a new strategy for the design and developing high-performance biosafe hemostatic materials.