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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Controlled Microfluidic Environment for Dynamic Investigation of Red Blood Cell Aggregation
Published on: June 4, 2015
Effect of normal human erythrocytes on blood rheology in microcirculation
Chika Hirata1, Hiromi Kobayashi, Nobuyuki Mizuno
1Department of Dermatology, Osaka City University, Graduate School of Medicine, Japan. c-h@msic.med.osaka-cu.ac.jp
Background:
Effects of RBCs on blood rheology were studied using a microchannel array flow analyzer (MC-FAN).
Methods:
Fluidity of four types of samples prepared from the venous blood of healthy volunteers was examined in terms of passage time through the microchannel array of MC-FAN (model KH-3): (1) physiological saline-RBC suspensions and plasma-RBC suspensions, each adjusted to a predetermined hematocrit value; (2) suspensions of glutaraldehyde-treated hardened RBCs; (3) fibrinogen-RBC and albumin-RBC suspensions; and (4) dextran-RBC suspensions.
Results:
Hematocrit positively correlated with passage time. Both plasma and fibrinogen prolonged passage time significantly. Hardened RBCs completely obstructed the microchannel. The passage time of dextran-RBC suspensions was prolonged in a dextran molecular weight- and concentration-dependent manner and was dependent on the passage time of the solution alone.
Conclusions:
Blood rheology, as determined by MC-FAN, is affected not by RBC aggregation but hematocrit, RBC deformability, and the passage time of the solution.
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