Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Measurement and analysis of the shape recovery process of each erythrocyte for estimation of its deformability using the microchannel technique: the influence of the softness of the cell membrane and viscosity of the hemoglobin solution inside the cell

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Journal of Biorheology

An Erratum to this article was published on 31 August 2012

Abstract

This study tried to evaluate the deformability of each erythrocyte by measuring the time constant of shape recovery just after the erythrocytes left the microchannels. We fabricated a microchannel array with a 5μm-square, 100μm-long cross-section on a PDMS sheet. Three different kinds of blood samples were prepared—healthy erythrocytes as a control, artificially membrane-hardened erythrocytes and artificial hemoglobin solution-diluted erythrocytes—to investigate the influence of erythrocyte's mechanical property changes on the time constant of shape recovery. These shape recovery processes were modeled and analyzed by a standard liner solid model. As a result, the temporal variation of the compressive strain of all erythrocytes showed exponential decay with time elapsed like a first order lag system, so the time constant of shape recovery could be calculated from the semi-logarithmic relaxation curve. The stiffer the cell membrane was using glutaraldehyde, the shorter the time constant for relaxation became compared to healthy erythrocytes. The diluted hemoglobin erythrocytes snapped back quicker than healthy ones. In addition, the time constant of healthy blood drawn from females was clearly shorter than that collected from males. However, the time constant of fully hemoglobin substituted erythrocytes was not affected by gender difference. These results indicate that there is not a significant difference in the stiffness of healthy cell membranes regardless of individual and gender differences. On the other hand, the viscosity of the hemoglobin solution inside the cell is one of the significant factors affecting the time constant. Therefore, these results suggest that the deformability of individual erythrocytes can be quantitated by the time constant for relaxation measured by microchannel techniques.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Japan. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in Japan, 2007. 2010.

  2. Williamson JR, Gardner RA, Boylan CW, Carroll GL, Chang K, Marvel JS, Gonen B, Kilo C, Tran-Son-Tay R, Sutera SP. Microrheologic investigation of erythrocyte deformability in diabetes mellitus. Blood. 1985;65(2):283–8.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Schut NH, van Arkel EC, Hardeman MR, Bilo HJG, Michels RPJ, Vreeken J. No decreased erythrocyte deformability in type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes, either by filtration or by ektacytometry. Acta Diabetol. 1993;30(2):89–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Caimi G, Lo Presti R. Techniques to evaluate erythrocyte deformability in diabetes mellitus. Acta Diabetol. 2004;41(3):99–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Evans EA. Structure and deformation properties of red blood cells: concepts and quantitative methods. Method Enzymol. 1989;173:3–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hochmuth RM, Waugh RE. Erythrocyte membrane elasticity and viscosity. Annu Rev Physiol. 1987;49:209–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Schmid-Schonbein H, Wells R, Schildkraut R. Microscopy and viscometry of blood flowing under uniform shear rate (rheoscopy). J Appl Physiol. 1969;26:674–8.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Bessis M, Mohandas N. A diffractometric method for the measurement of cellular deformability. Blood Cells. 1975;1:303–13.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Shiga T, Maeda N, Kon K. Erythrocyte rheology. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 1990;10:9–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Kikuchi Y. Effect of M. L. Phillips, A. S. David, Y. Kikuchi, S. Fujieda, M. Monma, K. Suzuki, M. Mori M: development of microchannel array flow analyzer (MC-FAN) for measurement of blood rheological factors. Biorheology. 1996;33(4):411.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  11. Tajikawa T, Ohba K, Higuchi K, Sakakibara C. Visualization and observation of deformation of human red blood cell passing through a micro channel array as a model of human blood capillary. Trans Vis Soc Japan. 2005;25(12):84–91 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Kiernan JA. Formaldehyde, formalin, paraformaldehyde and glutaraldehyde: what they are and what they do. Microsc Today. 2000;00(1):8–12.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Funder J. J. O. Wieth: chloride transport in human erythrocytes and ghosts: a quantitative comparison. J Physiol. 1976;262(3):679–98.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Bjerrum PJ. Hemoglobin-depleted human erythrocyte ghosts: characterization of morphology and transport functions. J Membr Biol. 1979;48(1):43–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Fung YC. Biomechanics—mechanical properties of living tissue. 2nd ed. Berlin: Springer; 1993.

  16. Dintenfass L. Red cell rigidity, “Tk”, and filtration. Clin Hemorheol. 1985;5:241–4.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

A part of this research was supported by the “Strategic Project to Support the Formation of Research Bases at Private Universities” Matching Fund Subsidy from MEXT 2008–2010, JSPS; and by KAKENHI (15700339) and the Kansai University Research Grants: Grant-in-Aid for Joint Research, 2008. The authors express our appreciation for the cooperation with Christopher D. Bertram at the University of Sydney.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Science, Kansai University, 3-3-35, Yamate-cho, Suita, Osaka, 564-8680, Japan

    Tsutomu Tajikawa

  2. Graduate school of Science and Engineering, Kansai University, Suita, Japan

    Yuya Imamura, Takaya Ohno, Fumiya Muranishi & Maki Kubota

  3. Organization for Research and Development of Innovative Science and Technology, Kansai University, Suita, Japan

    Kenkichi Ohba

Authors
  1. Tsutomu Tajikawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yuya Imamura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Takaya Ohno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fumiya Muranishi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Maki Kubota
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Kenkichi Ohba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tsutomu Tajikawa.

About this article

Cite this article

Tajikawa, T., Imamura, Y., Ohno, T. et al. Measurement and analysis of the shape recovery process of each erythrocyte for estimation of its deformability using the microchannel technique: the influence of the softness of the cell membrane and viscosity of the hemoglobin solution inside the cell. J Biorheol 27, 1–8 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12573-012-0052-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12573-012-0052-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation