Enhanced in vitro fibrinolytic activity of immobilized plasmin on collagen beads

Plasmin was immobilized on collagenous substrates using carbodiimide as a linking agent. The kinetics of soluble and immobilized plasmin were monitored by reacting them with the chromogenic substrate S-2251 (H-D-Val-Leu-Lys-pNA) in the presence and absence of a2-antiplasmin (a2-PI). The ability of immobilized plasmin to lyse synthetic clots formed from fibrinogen and thrombin was determined by detecting the formation of fibrin degradation products (FDP). The activity of immobilized plasmin was 0.02 casein units (CU)/mg of collagen. The kinetic analysis of soluble and immobilized plasmin in the presence and absence of a2-PI shows that while soluble plasmin activity was inhibited by the presence of a2-PI, the plasmin inhibitor did not interfere with the ability of immobilized plasmin to attack fibrin. In the absence of a2-PI, the ability of the immobilized plasmin to lyse synthetic clots was the same as that of soluble plasmin. In the presence of a2-PI, immobilized plasmin produced twice the amount of FDP as did soluble plasmin. The immobilized plasmin activity was stable for a period of at least 3 months.