A coarse-grained theory to predict particle margination and migration in blood suspensions

Abstract eng:
The inhomogeneous distribution of red blood cells and platelets normal to the flow direction plays a significant role in hemostasis, drug delivery and microfluidics. In this paper, we develop a coarse-grained theory to predict these distributions in pressure-driven channel flow at zero Reynolds number and compare them to experiments and simulations. We demonstrate that the balance between the deformability-induced lift force and shear-induced diffusion results in a red blood cells’ peak concentration at the channel center and leaves a cell-free or “Fahraeus-Lindqvist” layer near the walls. On the other hand, in the absence of a lift force, platelets have excess concentration in the cell-free layer due to cell-platelet collisions. We also include in the model the process of platelets forming bonds with VWF-coated surfaces, linking cell migration and platelet margination to bleeding events. We thus describe the role of hematocrit in platelet activity as found in our associated experimental results.

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