Stress-free state of the red blood cell membrane and the deformation of its skeleton.

The response of a red blood cell (RBC) to deformation depends on its membrane, a composite of a lipid bilayer and a skeleton, which is a closed, two-dimensional network of spectrin tetramers as its bonds. The deformation of the skeleton and its lateral redistribution are studied in terms of the RBC resting state for a fixed geometry of the RBC, partially aspirated into a micropipette. The geometry of the RBC skeleton in its initial state is taken to be either two concentric circles, a references biconcave shape or a sphere.