Fig. 1: Design and mechanism of the coagulation-independent blood-imbibing and -crosslinking microparticles (BICMs) for rapid hemostasis and prevention of rebleeding.

a Schematic working principle of BICMs at the bleeding site to form a fortified clot with enhanced mechanical strength and tissue adhesion. b The structure of a crosslinked hyaluronic acid microparticle modified with o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) groups (oHA). c Rapid blood imbibition by oHA microparticles via capillary suction and water absorption. d The OPA groups on the microparticle surface covalently crosslink with amines present on proteins in imbibed blood and on the tissue matrix. e Visualization of the imbibition behavior and reaction between Rhodamine-labeled bovine serum albumin (Rho-BSA, 50 mg mL⁻¹, PBS, pH = 7.4) and oHA microparticles. The schematic illustration (top) and microscopy images (bottom) depict the procedure and results, respectively. f, g Effects of (f) pre-crosslinking density and (g) microparticle size on the imbibition rate (within 10 seconds) and imbibition ratio (after saturation) of oHA microparticles. Data are presented as means ± s.d. (n = 3 independent samples for f and g). All statistical analyses were performed using an unpaired two-tailed Student t-test. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001 (for comparison of imbibition rate); # p < 0.05, ## p < 0.01, ### p < 0.001, #### p < 0.0001 (for comparison of imbibition ratio). Comparison was performed between pre-crosslinking densities of 0, 9.8%, or 16.5% versus 13.5%, as well as between particle size of 180–325 μm, 120–180 μm, or 38–75 μm versus 75–120 μm. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.