Loading causes molecular damage in fibrin fibers.

ABSTRACT: Blood clots are the body's natural biomaterials formed during wound healing, but they are also the cause of many pathologies, such as ischemic stroke. Fibrin, the main protein in clots, provides clots with mechanical strength through a network of fibrin fibers. These fibers exhibit high extensibility and primarily elastic properties under static loading conditions though little is known about single fiber mechanics under dynamic loading, as experienced in vivo. Indeed, many biological materials show distinct mechanical responses under repeated loading/unloading (cyclic loading), a prime example of which is clot embolization. Using lateral force microscopy, we show that fibrin fibers exhibit viscoelasticity and undergo irreversible molecular damage under cyclic loading. Cross-linking

SUBMITTER: Norouzi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12541363 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature