The mechanical properties of single fibrin fibers.

ABSTRACT:

Summary background

Blood clots perform the mechanical task of stemming the flow of blood.

Objectives

To advance understanding and realistic modeling of blood clot behavior we determined the mechanical properties of the major structural component of blood clots, fibrin fibers.

Methods

We used a combined atomic force microscopy (AFM)/fluorescence microscopy technique to determine key mechanical properties of single crosslinked and uncrosslinked fibrin fibers.

Results and conclusions

Overall, full crosslinking renders fibers less extensible, stiffer, and less elastic than their uncrosslinked counterparts. All fibers showed stress relaxation behavior (time-dependent weakening) with a fast and a slow relaxation time, 2 and 52 s. In detail, crosslinked and uncrosslin

SUBMITTER: Liu W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3010862 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature