Spatiotemporal characterization of a fibrin clot using quantitative phase imaging.

ABSTRACT: Studying the dynamics of fibrin clot formation and its morphology is an important problem in biology and has significant impact for several scientific and clinical applications. We present a label-free technique based on quantitative phase imaging to address this problem. Using quantitative phase information, we characterized fibrin polymerization in real-time and present a mathematical model describing the transition from liquid to gel state. By exploiting the inherent optical sectioning capability of our instrument, we measured the three-dimensional structure of the fibrin clot. From this data, we evaluated the fractal nature of the fibrin network and extracted the fractal dimension. Our non-invasive and speckle-free approach analyzes the clotting process without the need for external contrast agents.

SUBMITTER: Gannavarpu R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4227684 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature