Dresden 2020 – scientific programme
The DPG Spring Meeting in Dresden had to be cancelled! Read more ...
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 26: Focus: Biological Cells in Microfluidics I
BP 26.2: Talk
Wednesday, March 18, 2020, 15:15–15:30, SCH A251
Geometry-induced focusing of red blood cells in a contraction-expansion microfluidic device — •Steffen Michael Recktenwald1, Asena Abay1,2, Thomas John1, Lars Kaestner1,3, and Christian Wagner1 — 1Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany — 2Landsteiner Laboratory, Amsterdam, Netherlands — 3Saarland University Medical Center, Homburg, Germany
Constrictions in blood vessels of the cardiovascular system can dramatically change the spatial distribution of passing cells or particles. To study the flow of red blood cell (RBC) suspensions in obstructed vessels, constricted microfluidic devices are commonly used. However, the three-dimensional nature of cell focusing in the channel cross-section remains poorly investigated. Here, we explore the cross-sectional distribution of living and rigid RBCs passing a constricted microfluidic channel. Therefore, individual cells are tracked in multiple layers across the channel depth and across the channel width. While cells are homogeneously distributed in the channel cross-section pre-contraction, we observe a strong geometry-induced focusing post-contraction. The magnitude of this cross-sectional focusing effect increases with increasing Reynolds number for both living and rigid RBCs. We discuss how this non-uniform cell distribution results in an apparent double-peaked velocity profile in particle image velocimetry analysis and show that trapping of RBCs in the recirculation zones of the abrupt constriction depends on cell deformability, highly relevant for biomedical cell-sorting applications.