Red cell membrane elasticity as determined by flow channel technique

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Chien, Shu | Sung, Lanping Amy | Lee, Mary M.L. | Skalak, Richard

Affiliations: Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0412, USA

Abstract: The elasticity of red cell membrane was determined in a rectangular flow channel under controlled shear flow. The relation between shear stress and cell extension ratio (λ) has been analyzed with the use of Evans’ two-dimensional model. The deformed cell shapes observed experimentally agreed well with the model with λ up to 1.4. The best correlation was found at λ = 1.2. The analysis suggests a nonlinear extensional membrane modulus in the low stress range encountered in the flow channel. In terms of an appropriate strain parameter, the elastic modulus is shown to rise toward the level encountered in micropipette aspiration experiments. The implications of the present findings in modeling of cell mechanics and in cell hemolysis are discussed.

Keywords: Erythrocyte deformability, hemolysis, elastic modulus, cell membrane, scanning electron microscope, shear stress

DOI: 10.3233/BIR-1992-295-607

Journal: Biorheology, vol. 29, no. 5-6, pp. 467-478, 1992