Carbohydrate Polymers 251 (2021) 117013 Available online 30 August 2020 0144-8617/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Nanocomposite hydrogel based on carrageenan-coated starch/cellulose nanofbers as a hemorrhage control material Shima Tavakoli a , Mahshid Kharaziha a, *, Shervin Nemati b , Ali Kalateh c a Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran b Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 11155-9466, Iran c Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Starch Cellulose nanofbers Kappa carrageenan Surface modifcation Hemostatic agent ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to develop a novel Kappa carrageenan (κCA)-coated Starch/cellulose nanofber (CNF) with adjustable mechanical, physical and biological properties for hemostatic applications. Results indicated that compared to Starch/CNF hydrogel, mechanical strength of κCA-coated Starch/CNF hydrogels signifcantly enhanced (upon 2 times), depending on the κCA content. Noticeably, the compressive strength of Starch/CNF increased from 15 ± 3 kPa to 27 ± 2 kPa in the 1% wt. κCA coated sample. Furthermore, the surface modifcation of Starch/CNF hydrogel using κCA reduced swelling ability (upon 2.3 times) and degradation rate (upon 2 times). Hemolysis and clotting tests indicated that while the hybrid hydrogels were blood compatible, they did not signifcantly change the blood clotting ability of starch matrix. The synergistic effects of Starch/CNF hydrogel and κCA coating provided excellent properties such as superior mechanical properties, adjustable degradation rate and blood clotting ability making κCA-coated Starch/CNF hydrogel a desirable candidate for hemostatic applications. 1. Introduction Uncontrollable and massive bleeding poses considerably mortal risks in battlefeld and traumatic accidents, and has taken a toll on mortality rate which caused over 5.8 million deaths annually worldwide (Wang et al., 2019). A perfect hemostatic component for considerable bleeding should absorb water and extra exudates rapidly, offer a physical barrier to blood fow, and accelerate the coagulation process and eventually form a clot to cease bleeding (Behrens et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2019). From this standpoint, hydrogels attracted many attentions due to their particular properties as a hemorrhage control agent (Kamoun, Kenawy, & Chen, 2017; Mir et al., 2018). Hydrogels as highly porous materials with hydrophilicity, biocom- patibility and biodegradability are suitable for biomedical applications including drug delivery, tissue engineering, wound dressing, and hem- orrhage control (Tavakoli & Klar, 2020; Ullah, Othman, Javed, Ahmad, & Akil, 2015). The hydrophilic functional groups including hydroxyl ( – OH) and carboxyl ( – COOH) absorb a considerable amount of water in a three-dimensional (3D) network and swell to padding injury cavity. Moreover, swollen network can provide a high moisture level at the wound site, accelerating cellular functions and angiogenesis process to contract wound (Tavakoli & Klar, 2020). Additionally, 3D structure of hydrogels can provide a suitable platform for embedding antibacterial elements, growth factors, supplementary and macromolecules to accel- erate wound healing process (Gupta, Vermani, & Garg, 2002; Tavakoli & Klar, 2020). There are various kinds of hydrogels based on polysaccharides like alginate, carrageenan, xanthan and starch with fantastic characteristics as hemostatic materials (Tavakoli & Klar, 2020). Polysaccharides are natural polymers, produced from sugar blocks. They show considerable properties including abundance in source, biocompatibility, biode- gradability, and no immune responses. Furthermore, polysaccharide-originated materials are simply synthesized and modi- fed by chemical or physical methods (Yang et al., 2017). Among various types of polysaccharides, starch is the most available and low-cost member with promising swelling and hemostatic properties (Bastioli, 1995; Mirzakhanian, Faghihi, Barati, & Momeni, 2015). Starch is composed of 70 % amylopectin and 30 % amylose and sourced from plants like corn, rice, wheat, and potatoes (Pavlovic & Brand˜ ao, 2003). However, starch could dissolve easily in biological fuid with a high degradation rate and its mechanical properties are not satisfactory for various biomedical applications (Zhai, Yoshii, Kume, & Hashim, 2002). * Corresponding author. E-mail address: kharaziha@cc.iut.ac.ir (M. Kharaziha). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Carbohydrate Polymers journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/carbpol https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.117013 Received 15 May 2020; Received in revised form 15 August 2020; Accepted 26 August 2020