The electrochemical oxidation of fibrinogen: a preliminary investigation

The electrochemical behaviour of the blood coagulation factor fibrinogen has been investigated mainly in order to assess the blood compatibility of metallic prosthetic materials; it was found that, when the spontaneous potential of a metal at the interface with blood is positive vs. NHE, thrombus deposition occurs. In particular, at potentials between -200 and +80 mV vs. SCE, fibrinogen undergoes, on a Pt electrode, anodic electropolymerization to fibers resembling, at the electron microscopy, those obtained by enzymatic polymerization of fibrinogen with thrombin, i.e. noncrosslinked fibrin.