Decreasing the gelation time of fibrin hydrogels

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating problem that often results in paraplegia or quadriplegia. Fibrin hydrogels can be injected into the injured cavity and fill the irregular space. Current techniques require 60 minutes to form a hydrogel. The purpose of this study was to design a fibrin biomaterial that would solidify at a faster rate. By augmenting the existing fabrication procedure, a novel biomaterial was created that formed in 5-7 minutes but lost much of its mechanical stability. Further studies will be performed to improve the mechanical properties while maintaining the faster rate of formation observed here.