Aggregation of red blood cells in suspension: study by light-scattering technique at small angles

Red blood cells (RBCs) in the presence of plasma proteins or other macromolecules have a tendency to form aggregates. Light-scattering technique was used to investigate the RBC aggregation process. A highly diluted suspension of RBCs was illuminated with a 632.8-nm HeNe laser. Angular-resolved measurements of light intensity scattered by an RBC suspension from a 200-microm thick optical glass cuvette during 10 min of their aggregation process were performed at 1 to 4 off-axis deg with a very high angular resolution, at hematocrits in the range of 3.5 x 10(-2) to 10(-1). The angular spreading of forward-scattered light at small angles during the RBC aggregation process was described in terms of a new, effective phase function model that has been used for fitting the experimental data. The aggregated RBCs' optical properties, such as effective scattering anisotropy and scattering cross section, were determined. The results were compared with prediction of Mie theory for equivolumetric spherical particles. The time dependence of the aggregates mean radius and of the mean number of cells per aggregate was also calculated. Last, the potential of the proposed technique (forward-scattering light technique) as a new quantitative investigation of cellular aggregation process was estimated.