Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 12, 2026
Experimental and Imaging Techniques for Examining Fibrin Clot Structures in Normal and Diseased States
Published on: April 1, 2015
Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of fibrin polymerization: effects of thrombin concentration on fibrin
Sumith Yesudasan1, Xianqiao Wang2, Rodney D Averett3
1School of Chemical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Georgia, 597 D.W. Brooks Drive, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
Studies suggest that patients with deep vein thrombosis and diabetes often have hypercoagulable blood plasma, leading to a higher risk of thromboembolism formation through the rupture of blood clots, which may lead to stroke and death. Despite many advances in the field of blood clot formation and thrombosis, the influence of mechanical properties of fibrin in the formation of thromboembolisms in platelet-poor plasma is poorly understood. In this paper, we combine the concepts of reactive molecular dynamics and coarse-grained molecular modeling to predict the complex network formation of fibrin clots and the branching of fibrin monomers. The 340-kDa fibrinogen molecule was converted into a coarse-grained molecule with nine beads, and using our customized reactive potentials, we simulated the formation and polymerization process of a fibrin clot. The results show that higher concentrations of thrombin result in higher branch-point formation in the fibrin clot structure. Our results also highlight many interesting properties, such as the formation of thicker or thinner fibers depending on the thrombin concentration. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first successful molecular polymerization study of fibrin clots to focus on thrombin concentration.
Studies suggest that patients with deep vein thrombosis and diabetes often have hypercoagulable blood plasma, leading to a higher risk of thromboembolism formation through the rupture of blood clots, which may lead to stroke and death. Despite many advances in the field of blood clot formation and thrombosis, the influence of mechanical properties of fibrin in the formation of thromboembolisms in platelet-poor plasma is poorly understood. In this paper, we combine the concepts of reactive molecular dynamics and coarse-grained molecular modeling to predict the complex network formation of fibrin clots and the branching of fibrin monomers. The 340-kDa fibrinogen molecule was converted into a coarse-grained molecule with nine beads, and using our customized reactive potentials, we simulated the formation and polymerization process of a fibrin clot. The results show that higher concentrations of thrombin result in higher branch-point formation in the fibrin clot structure. Our results also highlight many interesting properties, such as the formation of thicker or thinner fibers depending on the thrombin concentration. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first successful molecular polymerization study of fibrin clots to focus on thrombin concentration.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:20Radical Reactivity: Concentration Effects
02:34Molecular Structure and Acidity
The size effect explains the change in atomic size on acidity. When comparing the acids formed from elements that belong to the same column in the periodic table, their atomic sizes...
03:05Acid Strength and Molecular Structure
In the absence of any leveling effect, the acid strength of binary compounds of hydrogen with nonmetals (A) increases as the H-A bond strength decreases down a group in the periodic table. For group 17, the order of increasing acidity is HF < HCl < HBr < HI. Likewise, for group 16, the order of increasing acid strength is H2O < H2S < H2Se < H2Te. Across a row in the periodic table, the acid strength of binary hydrogen compounds increases with increasing...
02:54Lewis Structures of Molecular Compounds and Polyatomic Ions
01:25Shape and Texture of Coarse Aggregate
02:00Molecular Models