title: The Effect of Hematocrit on Platelet Adhesion: Experiments and Simulations.
abstract: The volume fraction of red blood cells (RBCs) in a capillary affects the degree to which platelets are promoted to marginate to near a vessel wall and form blood clots. In this work we investigate the relationship between RBC hematocrit and platelet adhesion activity. We perform experiments flowing blood samples through a microfluidic channel coated with type 1 collagen and observe the rate at which platelets adhere to the wall. We compare these results with three-dimensional boundary integral simulations of a suspension of RBCs and platelets in a periodic channel where platelets can adhere to the wall. In both cases, we find that the rate of platelet adhesion varies greatly with the RBC hematocrit. We observe that the relative decrease in platelet activity as hematocrit falls shows a similar profile for simulation and experiment.
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
authors: Andrew P
authors: AP
authors: Spann
authors: Schertz, Texas 78154, USA.
authors: James E
authors: JE
authors: Campbell
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
authors: Sean R
authors: SR
authors: Fitzgibbon
authors: United States Army Institute of Surgical Research, JBSA-Ft Sam Houston, Texas.
authors: Armando
authors: A
authors: Rodriguez
authors: United States Army Institute of Surgical Research, JBSA-Ft Sam Houston, Texas.
authors: Andrew P
authors: AP
authors: Cap
authors: United States Army Institute of Surgical Research, JBSA-Ft Sam Houston, Texas.
authors: Lorne H
authors: LH
authors: Blackbourne
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California; Institute for Computational & Mathematical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California. Electronic address: esgs@stanford.edu.
authors: Eric S G
authors: ESG
authors: Shaqfeh
mesh_terms: D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D044085:Microfluidics; D008954:Models, Biological; D010973:Platelet Adhesiveness; D011336:Probability