Utility of fibrin in tissue engineering application

Fibrin is a natural biopolymer formed in the last step of the clotting cascade by the action of thrombin on fibrinogen. Fibrin has captured the interest of tissue engineers due to its excellent biocompatibility, controllable biodegradability and ability to deliver cells and biomolecules. Actually, fibrin is nature’s scaffold following tissue injury to initiate hemostasis and provide the temporary structure that facilitates cellular activities and also the deposition of a new extracellular matrix. Fibrin gel precursors, fibrinogen and thrombin, can be derived from the patient’s own blood which enables the fabrication of completely autologous and inexpensive scaffolds. Moreover, owing to its multiple interaction sites for cells and other proteins, fibrin acts as a bioactive matrix and is suitable for cell and biomolecule delivery systems. In addition, the structural properties of fibrin substrates can be easily controlled by changes in fibrinogen and/or thrombin concentrations in the precursor solutions. Furthermore, fibrin can be injected as a liquid and it solidifies thereafter in situ, so it can fill bone gaps with any shape or geometry. However, because of the rapid degradation and weak mechanical properties of fibrin, many investigators use fibrin in combination with other materials to overcome such limitations.From preparation point of view, fibrin sealants can be produced at industrial scales by fractionation of large pools of plasma or from single plasma donations by blood establishments or hospital blood banks, each of these methods has their own advantages and limitations Figure1.So, fibrin alone or in combination with other materials has been used in tissue engineering of bone, cardiac tissue, cartilage, liver, nervous tissue, ocular tissue, skin, tendons, and ligaments. Thus, fibrin is a versatile biopolymer, which shows a great potential in tissue regeneration.

کلیدواژه ها:

Fibrin ، Natural polymers ، Bone tissue engineering ، Hydrogels