Deformation and clustering of red blood cells in microcapillary flows

McWhirter, J.L.; Noguchi, H.; Gompper, G.

doi:10.1039/c1sm05794d

Journal Article

PreJuSER-16983

Deformation and clustering of red blood cells in microcapillary flows

McWhirter, J. L.FZJ* ; Noguchi, H.FZJ* ; Gompper, G.FZJ*

2011
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Cambridge

Soft matter 7, 10967 - 10977 (2011) [10.1039/c1sm05794d]

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Please use a persistent id in citations: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/7336 doi:10.1039/C1SM05794D

Abstract: The shape changes and clustering of red blood cells (RBCs) under flow in cylindrical microcapillaries are studied using a triangulated surface model for the membrane and a particle-based mesoscopic simulation technique for the embedding fluid. As the flow velocity increases, the RBCs make a transition from a discocyte shape at low velocities to a parachute shape at high velocities; close to the critical flow velocity, the RBC can also be found in a transient slipper shape. The transition and critical flow velocity are examined for various capillary diameters and RBC volume fractions (hematocrit H-T). At high flow velocities and low hematocrits, the parachute-shaped RBCs can be found in clusters which are hydrodynamically stabilized. Here, the formation of a fluid vortex between neighboring cells, called bolus, develops which keeps the cells at a preferred distance. Decreasing the flow velocity towards the critical velocity, we observe an increasing frequency of drastic RBC shape fluctuations to slipper-shaped RBCs that can result in cluster breakup. These clusters resemble those seen in experiments using optical microscopy.

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Note: We thank I. O. Gotze, T. Auth, M. Ripoll, G. Vliegenthart, and R. G. Winkler for helpful discussions. Support of this work by the DFG through the priority program SPP1164, 'Nano- and Microfluidics', is gratefully acknowledged.

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