Blood, 1957, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 373-381.
© 1957 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Methylcellulose as a Wetting Agent in Blood Clot:
In Vivo Studies
MORRIS ROSENFELD 1
1 Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, The Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.
Methylcellulose, injected intravenously in dogs, altered the surface properties
of blood plasma, as measured both in the fluid and clotted state. In fluid plasma,
it altered the pattern of the surface tension-time curve, instituting the following
changes: a reduction in the dynamic value of surface tension, a progressive rise
in value contrasted to the normal decline, an elevation of the final static level
above the pre-injection value. In clotted plasma, methylcellulose converted the
normal water repellent surface to one that was water attracting, or hydrophilic.
There was no change of coagulation time in glass, but possibly some prolongation
in siliconed tubes. No surface tension or hydrophilic changes were induced by
the other colloids tested; namely, dextran, polyvinylpyrrolidone and carboxymethylcellulose. The physical changes induced by methylcellulose are of a type
that might favorably influence clot structure and adhesion.
Submitted on July 13, 1956
Accepted on September 20, 1956
