Hsu, Bryan B.Conway, WilliamTschabrunn, Cory M.Mehta, ManavPerez-Cuevas, Monica B.Zhang, ShuguangHammond, Paula T.2015-11-032015Hsu, Bryan B., William Conway, Cory M. Tschabrunn, Manav Mehta, Monica B. Perez-Cuevas, Shuguang Zhang, and Paula T. Hammond. 2015. “Clotting Mimicry from Robust Hemostatic Bandages Based on Self-Assembling Peptides.” ACS Nano 9 (9): 9394-9406. doi:10.1021/acsnano.5b02374. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5b02374.1936-0851http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:23473866Uncontrolled bleeding from traumatic wounds is a major factor in deaths resulting from military conflict, accidents, disasters and crime. Self-assembling peptide nanofibers have shown superior hemostatic activity, and herein, we elucidate their mechanism by visualizing the formation of nanofiber-based clots that aggregate blood components with a similar morphology to fibrin-based clots. Furthermore, to enhance its direct application to a wound, we developed layer-by-layer assembled thin film coatings onto common materials used for wound dressings—gauze and gelatin sponges. We find these nanofibers elute upon hydration under physiological conditions and generate nanofiber-based clots with blood. After exposure to a range of harsh temperature conditions (−80 to 60 °C) for a week and even 5 months at 60 °C, these hemostatic bandages remain capable of releasing active nanofibers. In addition, the application of these nanofiber-based films from gauze bandages was found to accelerate hemostasis in porcine skin wounds as compared to plain gauze. The thermal robustness, in combination with the self-assembling peptide’s potent hemostatic activity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low cost of production, makes this a promising approach for a cheap yet effective hemostatic bandage.en-USArticlebleedingnanofibershemorrhageblood clotswound dressingsJournal Article2015-11-0310.1021/acsnano.5b02374