Novel purified clinoptilolite-tuff-doped alginate hemostatic dressing demonstrating rapid hemostasis and favorable safety profile

Uncontrolled bleeding remains a leading cause of preventable death in trauma and combat settings. Clinically, hemorrhagic injuries can be divided into non-compressible internal bleeding, and externally accessible bleeding wounds, which can often be managed through direct wound packing and compression. Topical hemostatic dressings are intended for the latter scenario, particularly in junctional, penetrating, or irregular wounds where tourniquets are ineffective or contraindicated. Despite their widespread use, current hemostats have important limitations, including variable performance, particle shedding, cytotoxicity, and exothermic reactions that cause thermal injury. These shortcomings raise safety concerns, especially in austere or emergency settings requiring reliable and atraumatic bleeding control. To overcome these limitations, we developed a novel purified clinoptilolite-tuff doped alginate wound dressing (PCTDA) and compared it with two market-leading products. PCTDA exhibits higher absorbency, accelerates clotting across a wide range of temperatures, matches the efficacy of those products in an animal model of severe bleeding. It also accelerates clot initiation in anticoagulated blood. Extensive in vitro and in vivo investigations using an acute bleeding model show no evidence of exothermicity, particle shedding, embolization, or toxicity. The unique combination of fast, reliable bleeding control and favorable acute safety observations defines PCTDA as a next‑generation hemostatic dressing for compressible wounds.