title: Nanomechanical characterization of red blood cells using optical tweezers.
abstract: Deformation behaviours of red blood cells (RBCs) have been studied by applying stretching forces via optical tweezers. Combined with finite-element analyses (FEA), the RBCs' mechanical properties are determined quantitatively based on a best fitting between the experimental deformed geometries and the simulated counterparts. Experimentally, a silica beads attached erythrocyte is optical-mechanically stretched to different lengths. On the theoretical front, a large deformation model with Mooney-Rivlin constitutive equations has been simulated by using FEA to predict the cell deformation geometries. The numerically simulated transverse and longitudinal strains which are in a good agreement with the experimental measurements facilitate the determination of elastic constants of the cells.
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave., Singapore, Singapore 639798. mcli@ntu.edu.sg
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods; D004548:Elasticity; D004907:Erythrocyte Deformability; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D018056:Hemorheology; D008422:Materials Testing; D015233:Models, Statistical; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D052898:Optical Tweezers; D051381:Rats; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D012822:Silicon Dioxide