TY  - JOUR
AU  - Babaki, Mehrnaz
AU  - Fedosov, Dmitry A.
AU  - Gholivand, Amirreza
AU  - Opdam, Joeri
AU  - Tuinier, Remco
AU  - Lettinga, Minne Paul
TI  - Competition between deformation and free volume quantified by 3D image analysis of red blood cell
JO  - Biophysical journal
VL  - 122
IS  - 9
SN  - 0006-3495
CY  - Bethesda, Md.
PB  - Soc.
M1  - FZJ-2023-02353
SP  - 1646 - 1658
PY  - 2023
AB  - Cells in living organisms are subjected to mechanical strains caused by external forces like overcrowding, resulting in strong deformations that affect cell function. We study the interplay between deformation and crowding of red blood cells (RBCs) in dispersions of nonabsorbing rod-like viruses. We identify a sequence of configurational transitions of RBC doublets, including configurations that can only be induced by long-ranged attraction: highly fluctuating T-shaped and face-to-face configurations at low, and doublets approaching a complete spherical configuration at high, rod concentrations. Complementary simulations are used to explore different energy contributions to deformation as well as the stability of RBC doublet configurations. Our advanced analysis of 3D reconstructed confocal images of RBC doublets quantifies the depletion interaction and the resulting deformation energy. Thus, we introduce a noninvasive, high-throughput platform that is generally applicable to investigate the mechanical response of biological cells to external forces and characterize their mechanical properties.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6  - 36964658
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000992419800001
DO  - DOI:10.1016/j.bpj.2023.03.030
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/1008453
ER  -