Using calcium sulfate cement—Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose/sodium alginate composites as substitutes of bone wax

Development of alternatives of bone wax to stop blood transfusion occurred in cancellous bone injury is highly deserved clinically. An ideal candidate is supposed to be not only biodegradable, biocompatible, malleable, and cost-effective, but also have comparable mechanical strength to cancellous bone. In the present work, calcium sulfate cement (CSC) based composites modified with hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) or sodium alginate (SA) were prepared. In brief, CSC was combined with 2, 4, 6 wt.% of HPMC or SA, respectively, followed by setting behavior evaluation, compressive strength and degradation testing, XRD, and SEM characterizations, as well as blood clotting induction study. Both additives improved the hemostatic performance of CSC, but CSC with 2% wt. SA exhibited the optimum setting time, mechanical strength, stability, and blood clotting ability. These results reveal the feasibility of using CSC–SA based composite as a substitute for bone wax.