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Updated: Jun 11, 2026
Quantitative Analysis of Viscoelastic Properties of Red Blood Cells Using Optical Tweezers and Defocusing Microscopy
Published on: March 25, 2022
The evaluation of interaction between red blood cells in blood coagulation by optical tweezers
Bor-Wen Yang1, Yu-Hong Mu, Kui-Teng Huang
1Department of Opto-Electronic System Engineering, R.O.C. bInstitute of Electrical Engineering, Minghsin University of Science and Technology, Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C. bwyang@must.edu.tw
To maintain the life of patients with hemophilia, apoplexy or hemorrhage, appropriate blood coagulation is crucial. To study the microscopic phenomena of blood coagulation and the therapeutic effects of blood medication, optical tweezers were applied to estimate the interaction between red blood cells in the coagulation process. By measuring minimum optical power required to trap the coagulating blood cells, the pN-scale interaction between them can be evaluated. In normal blood sample, the interaction rises in accordance with coagulation time. The addition of heparin attenuates the interaction and postpones the coagulation, whereas the addition of tranexamic acid starts the coagulation early at the beginning and allows the process completed in less time.
To maintain the life of patients with hemophilia, apoplexy or hemorrhage, appropriate blood coagulation is crucial. To study the microscopic phenomena of blood coagulation and the therapeutic effects of blood medication, optical tweezers were applied to estimate the interaction between red blood cells in the coagulation process. By measuring minimum optical power required to trap the coagulating blood cells, the pN-scale interaction between them can be evaluated. In normal blood sample, the interaction rises in accordance with coagulation time. The addition of heparin attenuates the interaction and postpones the coagulation, whereas the addition of tranexamic acid starts the coagulation early at the beginning and allows the process completed in less time.
