Hydrophobic Polystyrene-Modified Gelatin Enhances Fast Hemostasis And Tissue Regeneration in Traumatic Brain Injury.

Hemostatic sealant is required to deal with blood loss, especially in the scenario of traumatic brain injury (TBI), which presents high rates of morbidity and disability. Hemostasis in surgery with traditional gelatin-based sealants often leads to blood loss and other issues in brain because of the hydrophilic gelatin swelling. Herein we study hydrophobic effects on the hemostasis in TBI surgery by tuning the chain length of polystyrene (PS) onto methylacrylated gelatin (Gel-MA). The hydrophobicity and hemostatic efficiency could be tuned by controlling the length of PS groups. The platelet activation of modified sealants Gel-MA-2P, Gel-MA-P and Gel-MA-0.5P was as much as 17.5, 9.1 and 2.1 times higher than Gel-MA in vitro. The hemostatic time of Gel-MA-2P, Gel-MA-P and Gel-MA-0.5P groups was 2.0, 1.6 and 1.1 folds faster than in Gel-MA group in TBI mice. Increased formation of fibrins and platelet aggregation could also be observed in vitro by SEM. Animal's mortality lowered by 46%, neurologic deficiency reduced by 1.5 times, and brain edema attenuated by 10%. Protein expression was further investigated to exhibit toxic iron-related processes caused by delayed hemostasis and activation of platelets via PI3K/PKC-α signaling. the hydrophobic Gel-MA had the potential in hemostatic TBI and promoted nervous system recovery in brain with the potentials in clinics. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.