In vitro assessment of microrheological properties of erythrocytes in norm and pathology with optical methods

P. Ermolinskiy, A. Lugovtsov, A. Maslyanitsina, A. Semenov, L. Dyachuk, A. Priezzhev

Abstract: Investigating the processes of spontaneous aggregation and deformability of erythrocytes (or red blood cells – RBC) is important both for understanding the fundamental mechanisms of aggregation, and for assessing the differences between the parameters of aggregation and deformability of RBCs in the blood of healthy and diseased people. The aim of this study is to estimate the differences between RBC microrheological properties in the blood of healthy donors and patients suffering from arterial hypertension. Methods of laser trapping, light diffractometry and diffuse scattering were used to measure in vitro microrheological properties of the single cells and ensembles of cells. Based on the results of our measurements we make a conclusion that RBC aggregates in the blood of patients suffering from arterial hypertension are stronger and form faster than those in the blood of healthy people.

Keywords: Optical trapping, erythrocyte, aggregation, deformability, force of aggregation, RheoScan, diffractometry, laser tweezers, RBC, arterial hypertension

Series on Biomechanics, Vol.32, No.3 (2018), 20-25

Keywords: aggregation; arterial hypertension; deformability; diffractometry; erythrocyte; force of aggregation; laser tweezers; Optical trapping; RBC; RheoScan

Date published: 2018-12-16