Elasticity of Fibrin and Protofibrin Gels ls Differentially Modulated by Calcium and Zinc

1988 ◽  
Vol 59 (03) ◽  
pp. 500-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard Marx

SummaryThe mechanical properties of fibrin and protofibrin gels in the presence of physiologic levels of Ca(II) and Zn(II) are described. As monitored with a thrombelastograph, Ca(II) (0.5–2 mM) increases the rate of development and the maximum level of gel elastic modulus (G) of fibrin and protofibrin gels. Zn(II) (10–50 μM) decreases the elastic modulus of those gels, even in the presence of a large excess of Ca(II). This contrasts with the ability of both divalent cations to increase fibrin and protofibrin gel turbidity. Unlike the turbidity or fibre thickness of fibrin and protofibrin gels, both of which are increased by these cations, gel elasticity is increased by Ca(II) but decreased by Zn(II). h is demonstrated that Ca(II) and Zn(II) modulate fibrin and protofibrin gels independently of one another, and that they have opposing effects on the mechanical properties of the gels. The disparity between the visual (turbidity, TEM) and the mechanical (elasticity) properties of (proto)fibrin gels indicates the need for new conceptual and analytic paradigms.

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (10) ◽  
pp. e2020541118
Author(s):  
Jing Xia ◽  
Li-Heng Cai ◽  
Huayin Wu ◽  
Frederick C. MacKintosh ◽  
David A. Weitz

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.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2303
Author(s):  
Congyu Zhong ◽  
Liwen Cao ◽  
Jishi Geng ◽  
Zhihao Jiang ◽  
Shuai Zhang

Because of its weak cementation and abundant pores and cracks, it is difficult to obtain suitable samples of tectonic coal to test its mechanical properties. Therefore, the research and development of coalbed methane drilling and mining technology are restricted. In this study, tectonic coal samples are remodeled with different particle sizes to test the mechanical parameters and loading resistivity. The research results show that the particle size and gradation of tectonic coal significantly impact its uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus and affect changes in resistivity. As the converted particle size increases, the uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus decrease first and then tend to remain unchanged. The strength of the single-particle gradation coal sample decreases from 0.867 to 0.433 MPa and the elastic modulus decreases from 59.28 to 41.63 MPa with increasing particle size. The change in resistivity of the coal sample increases with increasing particle size, and the degree of resistivity variation decreases during the coal sample failure stage. In composite-particle gradation, the proportion of fine particles in the tectonic coal sample increases from 33% to 80%. Its strength and elastic modulus increase from 0.996 to 1.31 MPa and 83.96 to 125.4 MPa, respectively, and the resistivity change degree decreases. The proportion of medium particles or coarse particles increases, and the sample strength, elastic modulus, and resistivity changes all decrease.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 433
Author(s):  
Sara Trujillo ◽  
Melanie Seow ◽  
Aline Lueckgen ◽  
Manuel Salmeron-Sanchez ◽  
Amaia Cipitria

Alginate is a polysaccharide used extensively in biomedical applications due to its biocompatibility and suitability for hydrogel fabrication using mild reaction chemistries. Though alginate has commonly been crosslinked using divalent cations, covalent crosslinking chemistries have also been developed. Hydrogels with tuneable mechanical properties are required for many biomedical applications to mimic the stiffness of different tissues. Here, we present a strategy to engineer alginate hydrogels with tuneable mechanical properties by covalent crosslinking of a norbornene-modified alginate using ultraviolet (UV)-initiated thiol-ene chemistry. We also demonstrate that the system can be functionalised with cues such as full-length fibronectin and protease-degradable sequences. Finally, we take advantage of alginate’s ability to be crosslinked covalently and ionically to design dual crosslinked constructs enabling dynamic control of mechanical properties, with gels that undergo cycles of stiffening–softening by adding and quenching calcium cations. Overall, we present a versatile hydrogel with tuneable and dynamic mechanical properties, and incorporate cell-interactive features such as cell-mediated protease-induced degradability and full-length proteins, which may find applications in a variety of biomedical contexts.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Bo Zhang ◽  
Sizhi Zeng ◽  
Fenghua Tang ◽  
Shujun Hu ◽  
Qiang Zhou ◽  
...  

As a stimulus-sensitive material, the difference in composition, fabrication process, and influencing factors will have a great effect on the mechanical properties of a superelastic Ni-Ti shape memory alloy (SMA) wire, so the seismic performance of the self-centering steel brace with SMA wires may not be accurately obtained. In this paper, the cyclic tensile tests of a kind of SMA wire with a 1 mm diameter and special element composition were tested under multi-working conditions, which were pretreated by first tensioning to the 0.06 strain amplitude for 40 cycles, so the mechanical properties of the pretreated SMA wires can be simulated in detail. The accuracy of the numerical results with the improved model of Graesser’s theory was verified by a comparison to the experimental results. The experimental results show that the number of cycles has no significant effect on the mechanical properties of SMA wires after a certain number of cyclic tensile training. With the loading rate increasing, the pinch effect of the hysteresis curves will be enlarged, while the effective elastic modulus and slope of the transformation stresses in the process of loading and unloading are also increased, and the maximum energy dissipation capacity of the SMA wires appears at a loading rate of 0.675 mm/s. Moreover, with the initial strain increasing, the slope of the transformation stresses in the process of loading is increased, while the effective elastic modulus and slope of the transformation stresses in the process of unloading are decreased, and the maximum energy dissipation capacity appears at the initial strain of 0.0075. In addition, a good agreement between the test and numerical results is obtained by comparing with the hysteresis curves and energy dissipation values, so the numerical model is useful to predict the stress–strain relations at different stages. The test and numerical results will also provide a basis for the design of corresponding self-centering steel dampers.


2011 ◽  
Vol 236-238 ◽  
pp. 1746-1751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Liang ◽  
Guan Ben Du ◽  
Omid Hosseinaei ◽  
Si Qun Wang ◽  
Hui Wang

To find out the penetration of PF into the wood cell wall and its effects onthe mechanical properties in the cellular level, the elastic modulus and hardness of secondary wall (S2layer) and compound corner middle lamella (CCML) near PF bond line region were determined by nanoindentation. Compare to the reference cell walls (unaffected by PF), PF penetration into the wood tissues showed improved elastic modulus and hardness. And the mechanical properties decreased slowly with the increasing the distance from the bond line, which are attributed to the effects of PF penetration into S2layer and CCML. The reduced elastic modulus variations were from18.8 to 14.4 GPa for S2layer, and from10.1 to 7.65 GPa for CCML. The hardness was from 0.67 to 0.52 GPa for S2layer, and from 0.65 to 0.52 GPa for CCML. In each test viewpoint place, the average hardness of CCML was almost as high as that of S2layer, but the reduced elastic modulus was about 50% less than that of S2layer. But the increase ratio of mechanical properties was close. All the results showed PF penetrates into the CCML. The penetration behavior and penetration depth from bond line were similar in both S2layer and CCML.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 3032
Author(s):  
Tuan Anh Le ◽  
Sinh Hoang Le ◽  
Thuy Ninh Nguyen ◽  
Khoa Tan Nguyen

The use of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) by-products as aluminosilicate precursors in geopolymer binders has attracted significant interest from researchers in recent years owing to their high alumina and silica contents. Introduced in this study is the use of geopolymer concrete comprising FCC residue combined with fly ash as the requisite source of aluminosilicate. Fly ash was replaced with various FCC residue contents ranging from 0–100% by mass of binder. Results from standard testing methods showed that geopolymer concrete rheological properties such as yield stress and plastic viscosity as well as mechanical properties including compressive strength, flexural strength, and elastic modulus were affected significantly by the FCC residue content. With alkali liquid to geopolymer solid ratios (AL:GS) of 0.4 and 0.5, a reduction in compressive and flexural strength was observed in the case of geopolymer concrete with increasing FCC residue content. On the contrary, geopolymer concrete with increasing FCC residue content exhibited improved strength with an AL:GS ratio of 0.65. Relationships enabling estimation of geopolymer elastic modulus based on compressive strength were investigated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed that the final product from the geopolymerization process consisting of FCC residue was similar to fly ash-based geopolymer concrete. These observations highlight the potential of FCC residue as an aluminosilicate source for geopolymer products.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009524432110153
Author(s):  
Jaber Mirzaei ◽  
Abdolhossein Fereidoon ◽  
Ahmad Ghasemi-Ghalebahman

In this study, the mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP)-based nanocomposites reinforced with graphene nanosheets, kenaf fiber, and polypropylene-grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) were investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used as the experimental design. The blends fabricated in three levels of parameters include 0, 0.75, and 1.5 wt% graphene nanosheets, 0, 7.5, and 15 wt% kenaf fiber, and 0, 3, and 6 wt% PP-g-MA, prepared by an internal mixer and a hot press machine. The fiber length was 5 mm and was being constant for all samples. Tensile, flexural, and impact tests were conducted to determine the blend properties. The purpose of this research is to achieve the highest mechanical properties of the considered nanocomposite blend. The addition of graphene nanosheets to 1 wt% increased the tensile, flexural, and impact strengths by 16%, 24%, and 19%, respectively, and an addition up to 1.5 wt% reduced them. With further addition of graphene nanosheets until 1.5 wt%, the elastic modulus was increased by 70%. Adding the kenaf fiber up to 15 wt% increased the elastic modulus, tensile, flexural, and impact strength by 24%, 84%, 18%, and 11%, respectively. The addition of PP-g-MA has increased the adhesion, dispersion and compatibility of graphene nanosheets and kenaf fibers with matrix. With 6 wt% PP-g-MA, the tensile strength and elastic modulus were increased by 18% and 75%, respectively. The addition of PP-g-MA to 5 wt% increased the flexural and impact strengths by 10% and 5%, respectively. From the entire experimental data, the optimum values for elastic modulus, as well as, tensile, flexural, and impact strengths in the blends were obtained to be 4 GPa, 33.7896 MPa, 57.6306 MPa, and 100.1421 J/m, respectively. Finally, samples were studied by FE-SEM to check the dispersion of graphene nanosheets, PP-g-MA and kenaf fibers in the polymeric matrix.


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonid Agureev ◽  
Valeriy Kostikov ◽  
Zhanna Eremeeva ◽  
Svetlana Savushkina ◽  
Boris Ivanov ◽  
...  

The article presents the study of alumina nanoparticles’ (nanofibers) concentration effect on the strength properties of pure nickel. The samples were obtained by spark plasma sintering of previously mechanically activated metal powders. The dependence of the grain size and the relative density of compacts on the number of nanofibers was investigated. It was found that with an increase in the concentration of nanofibers, the average size of the matrix particles decreased. The effects of the nanoparticle concentration (0.01–0.1 wt.%) on the elastic modulus and tensile strength were determined for materials at 25 °C, 400 °C, and 750 °C. It was shown that with an increase in the concentration of nanofibers, a 10–40% increase in the elastic modulus and ultimate tensile strength occurred. A comparison of the mechanical properties of nickel in a wide range of temperatures, obtained in this work with materials made by various technologies, is carried out. A description of nanofibers’ mechanisms of influence on the structure and mechanical properties of nickel is given. The possible impact of impurity phases on the properties of nickel is estimated. The tendency of changes in the mechanical properties of nickel, depending on the concentration of nanofibers, is shown.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haoliang Huang ◽  
Guang Ye

In this research, self-healing due to further hydration of unhydrated cement particles is taken as an example for investigating the effects of capsules on the self-healing efficiency and mechanical properties of cementitious materials. The efficiency of supply of water by using capsules as a function of capsule dosages and sizes was determined numerically. By knowing the amount of water supplied via capsules, the efficiency of self-healing due to further hydration of unhydrated cement was quantified. In addition, the impact of capsules on mechanical properties was investigated numerically. The amount of released water increases with the dosage of capsules at different slops as the size of capsules varies. Concerning the best efficiency of self-healing, the optimizing size of capsules is 6.5 mm for capsule dosages of 3%, 5%, and 7%, respectively. Both elastic modulus and tensile strength of cementitious materials decrease with the increase of capsule. The decreasing tendency of tensile strength is larger than that of elastic modulus. However, it was found that the increase of positive effect (the capacity of inducing self-healing) of capsules is larger than that of negative effects (decreasing mechanical properties) when the dosage of capsules increases.


2015 ◽  
Vol 799-800 ◽  
pp. 115-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anika Zafiah M. Rus ◽  
Nur Munirah Abdullah ◽  
M.F.L. Abdullah ◽  
M. Izzul Faiz Idris

Graphite reinforced bio-based epoxy composites with different particulate fractions of graphite were investigated for mechanical properties such as tensile strength, elastic modulus and elongation at break. The graphite content was varied from 5 wt.%, 10 wt.%, 15 wt.%, 20 wt.%, 25 wt.%, 30 wt.% by weight percent in the composites. The results showed that the mechanical properties of the composites mainly depend on dispersion condition of the treated graphite filler, aggregate structure and strong interfacial bonding between treated graphite in the bio-based epoxy matrix. The composites showed improved tensile strength and elastic modulus with increase treated graphite weight loading. This also revealed the composites with increasing filler content was decreasing the elongation at break.


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