The contact system of coagulation can be activated when in contact with biomaterials. As collagen is being tested in novel biomaterials in this study, we have investigated how type IV collagen affects plasma kallikrein and C1-inhibitor. Firstly, we showed C1-inhibitor binds to type IV collagen with a Kd of 0.86 muM. The effects of type IV collagen on plasma kallikrein, factor XIIa, and beta-factor XIIa activity and on C1-inhibitor function were determined. Factor XIIa rapidly lost activity in the presence of type IV collagen, whereas plasma kallikrein and beta-factor XIIa were more stable. The rate of inhibition of plasma kallikrein by C1-inhibitor was decreased by type IV collagen in a dose-dependent manner. These studies could be relevant to the properties of biomaterials, which contain collagen, and should be considered in the testing for biocompatibility