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Significance Fibrin forms a three-dimensional network in blood clots during hemostasis that must be strong enough to stop bleeding yet flexible enough to withstand pressure variations of arterial flow. During clotting, activated platelets release Zn2+ whose effect on the structure and mechanics of fibrin gels is poorly understood. We show that Zn2+ unexpectedly reduces fibrin gel stiffness even though it induces bundling that coarsens the network. This results from weak interactions between the fibrils that make up the bundle, leading to a loose coupling that results in a softer network. These results provide important insight into the impact of Zn2+ on the behavior of blood clots and represent a different class of network that becomes weaker even with increasing bundle thickness. Fibrin is the main component of blood clots. The mechanical properties of fibrin are therefore of critical importance in successful hemostasis. One of the divalent cations released by platelets during hemostasis is Zn2+; however, its effect on the network structure of fibrin gels and on the resultant mechanical properties remains poorly understood. Here, by combining mechanical measurements with three-dimensional confocal microscopy imaging, we show that Zn2+ can tune the fibrin network structure and alter its mechanical properties. In the presence of Zn2+, fibrin protofibrils form large bundles that cause a coarsening of the fibrin network due to an increase in fiber diameter and reduction of the total fiber length. We further show that the protofibrils in these bundles are loosely coupled to one another, which results in a decrease of the elastic modulus with increasing Zn2+ concentrations. We explore the elastic properties of these networks at both low and high stress: At low stress, the elasticity originates from pulling the thermal slack out of the network, and this is consistent with the thermal bending of the fibers. By contrast, at high stress, the elasticity exhibits a common master curve consistent with the stretching of individual protofibrils. These results show that the mechanics of a fibrin network are closely correlated with its microscopic structure and inform our understanding of the structure and physical mechanisms leading to defective or excessive clot stiffness.

Anomalous mechanics of Zn 2+ -modified fibrin networks

Anomalous mechanics of Zn ²⁺ -modified fibrin networks