Fabrication of Hemostatic Powder Based on Modified Starch by Electron Beam Irradiation Method

In the present work, a hemostatic powder based on the starch (St) biopolymer was synthesized using an innovative production method involving electron beam irradiation (EBI). Compared to conventional chemical methods, irradiation methods offer several advantages, including high production speed (suitable for industrial-scale production), the elimination of common chemicals in polymerization processes (e.g., initiators or crosslinkers), simultaneous sterilization and production, no waste generation, and operation at room temperature. In the first stage, a novel approach was introduced involving the chlorination and amination of starch, followed by grafting plant polyphenols onto the starch. Under high-energy electron beam irradiation, crosslinking reactions were found to dominate over chain-breaking reactions. The chemical and physical structures of the synthesized product were characterized using FTIR, SEM, EDX, XRD, and TGA analyses. The effect of electron beam irradiation dose on swelling, gel percentage, and mechanical properties of the hemostatic product was also investigated. Among the tested doses, the 15 kGy irradiation dose yielded samples with superior swelling and suitable mechanical properties, making it the optimal dose for product synthesis. Notably, the absorption rate and capacity of the hemostatic powder synthesized by this irradiation method exceeded those of commercial samples.