Effect of Fibrin Network Orientation on Nanoparticle Diffusion (2011)

Undergraduates: Elizabeth Littauer, Patrick Moseby, Zachary McCaw Ricky Spero

Faculty Advisor: Richard Superfine
Department: Biology

---

Fibrin is critical to the process of blood coagulation and serves in a number of scaffolding capacities in the body. Fibrin monomers associate to form highly extensible protofibrils which interact with each other to form mesh networks. These networks provide structure for blood clots and are subject to shear stress due to blood circulation. Polymer nanoparticles can be used as diffusion models for biological or synthetic elements, such as platelets or anti-coagulant drugs. Past research of fibrin networks formed in static conditions has demonstrated that an increase in the concentration of a clot decreases its diffusion coefficient. Little, however, is known about the properties of clots formed under flow. We have developed a system that flows fibrin and other needed clotting factors through microchannels which mimic the structure of capillaries and veins. The addition of flow as a variable provides a more physiologically relevant model of clots within a body with haemostasis and circulation. Confocal imaging shows that fluorescently-labeled fibrin networks formed under flow are oriented parallel to the shear stresses of flow. This presentation focuses on the effect of flow on fibrin networks and how these effects influence nanoparticle diffusion.