Electrokinetic transport of red blood cells in microcapillaries

Electrokinetic flow of a suspension of erythrocytes (red blood cells, RBCs) in 20 num cylindrical fused-silica capillaries is examined in the present work. Flow direction anomalies are observed experimentally and tentatively explained by the development of a pH gradient between the cathode well and the anode well due to electrolysis reactions at the electrodes. This pH gradient alters the local zeta potentials of both the capillary and the RBC and thus the local electroendosmotic liquid flow (EOF) velocities and RBC electrophoretic (EP) velocities. The two velocities are opposite in direction but with EOF dominating such that the RBC moves toward the cathode, opposite to the anode migration observed in bulk conditions. The opposing zeta potentials also lead to RBC aggregation at the anode end for low fields less than 25 V/cm. As the electroendosmotic velocity decreases at the anode end due to decreasing pH, pressure-driven back flow develops to oppose the original EOF at the remaining portions of the capillary ensuring constant fluid flux. When the anode EOF velocity is smaller in magnitude than the EP velocity, reversal of blood cell transport is observed after a short transient time in which a pH gradient forms. RBC velocities and pH dependencies on electric field and MgCl(2) concentration are presented along with data showing the accumulation of charge separation across the capillary. Also, a short-term solution to the pH gradient formation is presented that could help thwart development of pH gradients in micro-devices at lower voltages.