Blood Clotting Enzymology

Blood Clotting Enzymology covers the mechanisms of blood clotting and their role in thrombosis, hemostasis, and many associated ramifications. This book is composed of 12 chapters that consider the integration of knowledge on blood clotting enzymology with hemostasis physiology. The opening chapter deals with the enzymology of the sol-gel transformation was studied in terms of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, surface physics, immunology, biophysical mechanisms, structural architecture, vitamin K and its antagonists, and the rheology of the blood. The subsequent chapters review the biophysical properties and composition of active substance in blood coagulation, as well as the concepts of prothrombin activation. These topics are followed by discussions on the chemical and physicochemical properties of fibrinogen and fibrin; the application of immulogical methods to delineate important properties of plasma constituents; and the mechanisms of antithrombin activity. Other chapters tackle the importance of hirudin and cobra venom for certain experimental laboratory work in the study of the physiology of blood coagulation. The final chapters survey the role of platelets in hemostasis, bleeding disorders, and the chemistry and function of vitamin K in blood coagulation. This book will prove useful to hematologists, enzyme scientist, immunologists, and research workers who are interested in blood coagulation mechanisms.