Pseudo-Fibrin
Fibrin has been subject of research for decades and still numerous new discoveries about this protein are made. Especially because of its crucial role in haemostasis, fibrin is an important subject in medical research. Recently, new possibilities to use fibrin as material are investigated because fibrin-based materials exhibit excellent biocompatibility and interesting mechanical properties. Combined with its hydrogel nature, these features make fibrin a versatile material with high relevance in the medical sector. Potential applications include usage as glue, scaffolds in tissue engineering and substrates in bio-printing.
The structural feature responsible for fibrin's versatility is its network-structure, which forms in an enzymtic process. The required enzyme - thrombin - is on the other hand the reason, why classical fibrin-based materials have to be replaced urgently. Besides high production costs, the most critical issue is the high risk of thrombosis, if free thrombin is released into the bloodstream. To however use the potential of this kind of materials, we are investigating new materials based on the precursor fibrinogen. Like fibrin itself, fibrinogen is known for its outstanding biocompatibility. To actually use fibrinogen as material, fiber-formation (fibrillogenesis) is required. So far, this is only possible with complex methods or by using an additional substrate.
With a novel technique developed by our group it is for the first time possible to induce fibrillogenesis directly in solution. In contrast to other fibrillogenesis-inducing methods, our technique does not require enzymes or drastic conditions. In a self-assembly process, stable hydrogels are formed, which can be converted into highly porous and flexible aerogels after lyophilization.
Most important, our process is initiated much faster than the enzymatic one and yields hydro- and aerogels with a remarkably similar structure to actual fibrin. Because of the structural similarity to fibrin, we label our new material "pseudo-firbin". So far, no other technique succeeded in creating a material so close to fibrin under mild conditions. Our current research focuses on the optimization of pseudo-fibrin's material properties, exploration of further fields of application and understanding the underlying reaction mechanisms.