Formation of Fibrin Gel in Fibrinogen−Thrombin System:  Static and Dynamic Light Scattering Study

The dynamics of thrombin-induced fibrin gel formation was investigated by means of static and dynamic light scattering. The decay time distribution function, obtained by the dynamic light scattering, clearly revealed a stepwise gelation process: the formation of fibrin and protofibril from fibrinogen followed by the lateral aggregation of protofibrils to form fibrin fibers and the formation of a three-dimensional network consisting of fibers. This conversion process was correlated with the angular dependence of the scattered light intensity (static light scattering). The correlation function of dynamic light scattering was analyzed in terms of sol−gel transition and gel structure. The correlation function showed a stretched exponential type behavior before the sol to gel transition point, and it showed a power law behavior at the gelation point.