Regensburg 2013 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 32: Cell Adhesion and Mechanics

BP 32.13: Vortrag

Freitag, 15. März 2013, 12:45–13:00, H43

Hydrodynamic simulations of platelets in blood flow — •Kathrin Müller, Dmitry A. Fedosov, and Gerhard Gompper — Institute of Complex Systems , Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

The bleeding through an injured vessel wall can be stopped by blocking the opening with a plug primarily formed by platelets. For an immediate response to the injury, the platelets must be located close to the vessel wall. A decrease of the volume fraction of red blood cells (hematocrit) leads to a reduced concentration of platelets near the wall. This can result in a considerable increase of the bleeding times [1]. Numerical simulations of blood flow help us better understand this complex process.

Blood flow simulations are performed in idealized geometries using the Dissipative Particle Dynamics method [2], a mesoscale hydrodynamic simulation technique. The blood is modelled as a fluid with suspended red blood cells and platelets, which are constructed using viscoelastic spring networks [3]. In order to identify the conditions for an efficient migration of platelets towards the wall (margination), their distribution in flow is monitored with respect to hematocrit, shear rate, their shape and deformability. Furthermore, possible mechanisms which are responsible for the platelet margination will be discussed.

References

[1] Reininger, Haemophilia 14 (Suppl. 5), (2008)

[2] Hoogerbrugge and Koelman, Europhys. Lett. 19, (1992)

[3] Fedosov, Caswell, and Karniadakis, Biophys. J. 98, (2010)