Engineered Hemostatic Biomaterials for Sealing Wounds.

Hemostatic biomaterials show great promise in wound control for the treatment of uncontrolled bleeding associated with damaged tissues, traumatic wounds, and surgical incisions. A surge of interest has been directed at boosting hemostatic properties of bioactive materials via mechanisms triggering the coagulation cascade. A wide variety of biocompatible and biodegradable materials has been applied to the design of hemostatic platforms for rapid blood coagulation. Recent trends in the design of hemostatic agents emphasize chemical conjugation of charged moieties to biomacromolecules, physical incorporation of blood-coagulating agents in biomaterials systems, and superabsorbing materials in either dry (foams) or wet (hydrogel) states. In addition, tough bioadhesives are emerging for efficient and physical sealing of incisions. In this Review, we highlight the biomacromolecular design approaches adopted to develop hemostatic bioactive materials. We discuss the mechanistic pathways of hemostasis along with the current standard experimental procedures for characterization of the hemostasis efficacy. Finally, we discuss the potential for clinical translation of hemostatic technologies, future trends, and research opportunities for the development of next-generation surgical materials with hemostatic properties for wound management.

Nanosensors based on polymer vesicles and planar membranes: a short review.

This review aims to summarize the advance in the field of nanosensors based on two particular materials: polymer vesicles (polymersomes) and polymer planar membranes. These two types of polymer-based structural arrangements have been shown to be efficient in the production of sensors as their features allow to adapt to different environment but also to increase the sensitivity and the selectivity of the sensing device. Polymersomes and planar polymer membranes offer a platform of choice for a wide range of chemical functionalization and characteristic structural organization which allows a convenient usage in numerous sensing applications. These materials appear as great candidates for such nanosensors considering the broad variety of polymers. They also enable the confection of robust nanosized architectures providing interesting properties for numerous applications in many domains ranging from pollution to drug monitoring. This report gives an overview of these different sensing strategies whether the nanosensors aim to detect chemicals, biological or physical signals.

Catalytic polymersomes to produce strong and long-lasting bioluminescence.

Here, we introduce an artificial bioluminescent nanocompartment based on the encapsulation of light-producing enzymes, luciferases, inside polymersomes. We exploit nanocompartmentalization to enhance luciferase stability in a cellular environment but also to positively modulate enzyme kinetics to achieve a long-lasting glow type signal. These features pave the way for expanding bioluminescence to nanotechnology-based applications.