Fibrinolysis: Determination of Why Elongation of Fibers Occurs (2013)

Undergraduates: Steven Wulfe, Igal Bucay

Faculty Advisor: Mike Falvo
Department: Chemistry

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The protein fibrin functions as a hemostatic plug after the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin by the enzyme thrombin. Fibrinolysis is the process of plasmin-mediated dissolution of fibrin and has significant medical relevance for the failure of fibrinolysis can lead to complications such as pulmonary embolism, heart attacks, and strokes. Little is known about the chemical and physical properties of fibrinolysis and this study hopes to illuminate one of these specific properties, determination of fibrin fiber diameter. After noticing fibrin elongation due to varying concentrations of thrombin instead of the other enzyme present in fibrinolysis, plasmin, this experiment paid particular attention to the diameter of created fibers by varying the concentration of thrombin. The observation of decreasing average fiber diameter with increasing thrombin concentration levels demonstrates the theory that the higher the concentration of thrombin, the thinner the fiber and therefore more likely to lyse than a thicker fiber at a lower concentration of thrombin. This is in line with previous data that determined that fibrin elongation is independent of plasmin concentration and depends on the fiber diameter during hemostasis.