Fibrinogen patterns and activity on substrates with tailored hydroxy density.

The influence of the surface fraction of OH groups on fibrinogen (FG) adsorption is investigated in copolymers of ethyl acrylate and hydroxy ethylacrylate. The amount of adsorbed FG, quantified by western-blotting combined with image analysis of the corresponding bands, decreases as the hydrophilicity of the substrate increases. The influence of substrate wettability on FG conformation and distribution is observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The most hydrophobic substrate promotes FG fibrillogenesis, which leads to a fibrin-like appearance in the absence of any thrombin. The degree of FG interconnection was quantified by calculating the fractal dimension of the adsorbed protein from image analysis of the AFM results. The biological activity of the adsorbed FG is correlated to cell adhesion on FG-coated substrates.