Tranexamic acid-loaded mesoporous silica microspheres as a hemostatic material

Bleeding management is considered essential for saving life both in the military and civilian field. There is still a need to develop topical hemostats that can stop bleeding and be used easily in the trauma sites. The aim of this work is to develop a hemostat based on mesoporous silica particles with large pores for bleeding control. Mesoporous silica microspheres (MSM) with particle size of 1.5 - 5 mu m and pores diameter of 25 nm have been successfully synthesized and, for the first time, loaded with tranexamic acid (TXA) with a content of 4.7%w/w. The hemostatic activity of both the pure material and TXA-loaded material (TXA@MSM) was investigated. It was found that the blood clotting time was significantly shortened by both systems with respect to control. A hemolysis assay was performed to evaluate the hemolytic activity of MSM, and the result indicated that the material was blood compatible. A preliminary TXA in vitro release test was performed, showing the complete release of TXA from the carrier within one hour. Considering the above results, TXA@MSM can be considered a promising material for the development of new hemostats.