Preclinical Evaluation of Colisorb: Surfactant-Free Hydrophilic Gelatin Sponge with Rapid Clotting and Enhanced Absorbency without Mechanical Compression

Rapid hemostasis is a major challenge in surgery, especially for noncompressible wounds such as liver wounds. Conventional hemostatic products often fall short of achieving the desired level of hemostasis. The current study introduces Colisorb, a novel cross-linked gelatin-based sponge for controlling surgical bleeding. The Colisorb sponge is a superabsorbent, adhesive, biocompatible, biodegradable, mechanically stable gelatin-based sponge with superior swelling kinetics, which allows strong swelling capability up to 70× its weight, thus indicating strong capability for blood absorption. Electron microscopic examination shows that the sponge has an interconnected network structure with pore sizes of 100 to 300 μm. Colisorb sponge also exhibits higher porosity and tensile strength compared to commercial products. Additionally, the Colisorb sponge demonstrated rapid degradation in only 3 days. <i>In vitro</i> examination of the Colisorb sponge demonstrated that it is noncytotoxic on mouse fibroblast and human fibroblast cells. <i>In vivo,</i> coagulation experiments showed that Colisorb promotes hemostasis in a rat liver laceration model and significantly reduces the amount of blood loss (100 mg with Colisorb as compared to 300 mg with Cutanplast). Collectively, the findings of the current study highlight the potential of the Colisorb gelatin hemostatic sponge to drive advancements in clinical applications for managing noncompressible hemorrhage and facilitating subsequent wound closure.