Salt-induced precipitation of fibrinogen: New insights from experiments and simulations

Fibrinogen is a major compound in blood coagulation and wound healing which forms fibers upon enzymatic trigger. It becomes increasingly important as a natural material to develop biodegenerative nanofibrous products. Manyfold factors are reported for in vitro assembly of fibrinogen molecules, namely (1) surface interaction, (2) denaturing and (3) non-denaturing buffer conditions. However, each of them have their own drawbacks.Here we present the newest results of an optimized protocol for salt induced fiber formation and give insights into the underlying mechanism.