Deposit of Red Blood Cells at low concentrations in evaporating droplets is dominated by a central edge growth.

Evaporation of blood droplets and diluted blood samples is a topic of intensive research, as it is considered a potential low-cost diagnostic tool. So far, samples with a volume fraction down to a few percent of red blood cells have been studied, and these were reportedly dominated by a "coffee-ring" deposit. In this study, samples with lower volume fractions were used to investigate the growth of the evaporative deposit from sessile droplets in more detail.

Osmotic gradient ektacytometry - a novel diagnostic approach for neuroacanthocytosis syndromes.

Introduction: The unique red blood cell (RBC) properties that characterize the rare neuroacanthocytosis syndromes (NAS) have prompted the exploration of osmotic gradient ektacytometry (Osmoscan) as a diagnostic tool for these disorders. In this exploratory study, we assessed if Osmoscans can discriminate NAS from other neurodegenerative diseases.

Methods: A comprehensive assessment was conducted using Osmoscan on a diverse group of patients, including healthy controls ( = 9), neuroacanthocytosis syndrome patients ( = 6, 2 VPS13A and 4 XK disease), Parkinson's disease patients ( = 6), Huntington's disease patients (n = 5), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients ( = 4).

Impact of anti-coagulant choice on blood elongational behavior.

Blood is a highly complex fluid with rheological properties that have a significant impact on various flow phenomena. In particular, it exhibits a non-Newtonian elongational viscosity that is comparable to polymer solutions. In this study, we investigate the effect of three different anticoagulants, namely EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid), heparin, and citrate, on the elongational properties of both human and swine blood.

Making a virtue out of an evil: Are red blood cells from chronic mountain sickness patients eligible for transfusions?

We investigated highlanders, permanently living at an altitude of 5100 m and compared Chronic Mountain Sickness (CMS) patients with control volunteers. While we found differences in systemic parameters such as blood oxygen content, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, and blood viscosity, the mechanical and rheological properties of single red blood cells did not differ between the two investigated groups.

Confinement effect on the microcapillary flow and shape of red blood cells.

The ability to change shape is essential for the proper functioning of red blood cells (RBCs) within the microvasculature. The shape of RBCs significantly influences blood flow and has been employed in microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices, serving as a diagnostic biomarker for specific pathologies and enabling the assessment of RBC deformability. While external flow conditions, such as the vessel size and the flow velocity, are known to impact microscale RBC flow, our comprehensive understanding of how their shape-adapting ability is influenced by channel confinement in biomedical applications remains incomplete.

Early stage of erythrocyte sedimentation rate test: Fracture of a high-volume-fraction gel.

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a clinical parameter used as a nonspecific marker for inflammation, and recent studies have shown that it is linked to the collapse of the gel formed by red blood cells (RBCs) at physiological hematocrits (i.e. RBC volume fraction).

A high-throughput electrophysiology assay to study the response of PIEZO1 to mechanical stimulation.

PIEZO1 channels are mechanically activated cation channels that play a pivotal role in sensing mechanical forces in various cell types. Their dysfunction has been associated with numerous pathophysiological states, including generalized lymphatic dysplasia, varicose vein disease, and hereditary xerocytosis. Given their physiological relevance, investigating PIEZO1 is crucial for the pharmaceutical industry, which requires scalable techniques to allow for drug discovery.

Cell-free layer development and spatial organization of healthy and rigid red blood cells in a microfluidic bifurcation.

Bifurcations and branches in the microcirculation dramatically affect blood flow as they determine the spatiotemporal organization of red blood cells (RBCs). Such changes in vessel geometries can further influence the formation of a cell-free layer (CFL) close to the vessel walls. Biophysical cell properties, such as their deformability, which is impaired in various diseases, are often thought to impact blood flow and affect the distribution of flowing RBCs.

Effect of Cell Age and Membrane Rigidity on Red Blood Cell Shape in Capillary Flow.

Blood flow in the microcirculatory system is crucially affected by intrinsic red blood cell (RBC) properties, such as their deformability. In the smallest vessels of this network, RBCs adapt their shapes to the flow conditions. Although it is known that the age of RBCs modifies their physical properties, such as increased cytosol viscosity and altered viscoelastic membrane properties, the evolution of their shape-adapting abilities during senescence remains unclear.

Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate: A Physics-Driven Characterization in a Medical Context.

Erythrocyte (or red blood cell) sedimentation rate (ESR) is a physical derived parameter of blood which is often used in routine health checks and medical diagnosis. For instance, in the case of inflammation, a higher ESR is observed due to the associated increase in fibrinogen and other plasma proteins. It was believed that this increase was due to the formation of larger aggregates of red blood cells (RBCs) caused by the increase in fibrinogen.

Red blood cell lingering modulates hematocrit distribution in the microcirculation.

The distribution of red blood cells (RBCs) in the microcirculation determines the oxygen delivery and solute transport to tissues. This process relies on the partitioning of RBCs at successive bifurcations throughout the microvascular network, and it has been known since the last century that RBCs partition disproportionately to the fractional blood flow rate, therefore leading to heterogeneity of the hematocrit (i.e.

Erythrocyte sedimentation: Effect of aggregation energy on gel structure during collapse.

The erythrocyte (or red blood cell) sedimentation rate (ESR) is commonly interpreted as a measure of cell aggregation and as a biomarker of inflammation. It is well known that an increase of fibrinogen concentration, an aggregation-inducing protein for erythrocytes, leads to an increase of the sedimentation rate of erythrocytes, which is generally explained through the formation and faster settling of large disjoint aggregates. However, many aspects of erythrocyte sedimentation conform well with the collapse of a particle gel rather than with the sedimentation of disjoint aggregates.

Erythrocyte Sedimentation: Collapse of a High-Volume-Fraction Soft-Particle Gel.

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate is one of the oldest medical diagnostic methods whose physical mechanisms remain debatable today. Using both light microscopy and mesoscale cell-level simulations, we show that erythrocytes form a soft-particle gel. Furthermore, the high volume fraction of erythrocytes, their deformability, and weak attraction lead to unusual properties of this gel.

Imaging Erythrocyte Sedimentation in Whole Blood.

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is one of the oldest medical diagnostic tools. However, currently there is some debate on the structure formed by the cells during the sedimentation process. While the conventional view is that erythrocytes sediment as separate aggregates, others have suggested that they form a percolating gel, similar to other colloidal suspensions.

The Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate and Its Relation to Cell Shape and Rigidity of Red Blood Cells from Chorea-Acanthocytosis Patients in an Off-Label Treatment with Dasatinib.

Background: Chorea-acanthocytosis (ChAc) is a rare hereditary neurodegenerative disease with deformed red blood cells (RBCs), so-called acanthocytes, as a typical marker of the disease. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was recently proposed as a diagnostic biomarker. To date, there is no treatment option for affected patients, but promising therapy candidates, such as dasatinib, a Lyn-kinase inhibitor, have been identified.

Acanthocyte Sedimentation Rate as a Diagnostic Biomarker for Neuroacanthocytosis Syndromes: Experimental Evidence and Physical Justification.

(1) Background: Chorea-acanthocytosis and McLeod syndrome are the core diseases among the group of rare neurodegenerative disorders called neuroacanthocytosis syndromes (NASs). NAS patients have a variable number of irregularly spiky erythrocytes, so-called acanthocytes. Their detection is a crucial but error-prone parameter in the diagnosis of NASs, often leading to misdiagnoses.

Statics and dynamics of magnetocapillary bonds.

When ferromagnetic particles are suspended at an interface under magnetic fields, dipole-dipole interactions compete with capillary attraction. This combination of forces has recently given promising results towards controllable self-assemblies as well as low-Reynolds-number swimming systems. The elementary unit of these assemblies is a pair of particles.