Dissociation of red blood cell aggregates in extensional flow

TL;DR

This study explores how red blood cell aggregates dissociate under extensional flow in microfluidic devices, revealing a critical extension rate that causes rapid dissociation, which impacts blood flow behavior in microcirculation.

Contribution

It provides experimental data on red blood cell aggregate dissociation rates in extensional flow, validating theoretical models and enhancing understanding of blood rheology in microcirculatory conditions.

Findings

Aggregate dissociation rate sharply increases at a critical extension rate.

Critical extension rate falls within microcirculatory conditions.

Results suggest large variations in aggregate sizes in vivo.

Abstract

Blood rheology and microcirculation are strongly influenced by red blood cell aggregation. We investigate the dissociation rates of red cell aggregates in extensional flow using hyperbolic microfluidic constrictions and image analysis by a convolutional neural network (CNN). Our findings reveal that aggregate dissociation increases sharply when a critical extension rate is reached which falls within the range of microcirculatory conditions, suggesting that large variations of aggregate sizes should be expected in-vivo. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of the behavior of red blood cell aggregates in response to extensional stress in microcirculatory networks, provides crucial experimental data to validate theoretical and numerical models, and constitutes the basis for improved evaluation of blood aggregability in clinical contexts.