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Blood Particulate Analogue Fluids: A Review
Samir Hassan Sadek1, Manuel Rubio1, Rui Lima2,3
1Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de los Materiales and Instituto de Computación Científica Avanzada (ICCAEx), Universidad de Extremadura, E-06006 Badajoz, Spain.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 2, 2021
Summary
Developing blood analogue fluids with microparticles is crucial for microfluidic studies. Mimicking real blood
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Fluid Dynamics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Microfluidics offers a platform for studying human microcirculation.
- Real blood presents challenges like coagulation and storage issues for in vitro experiments.
- Blood analogue fluids with microparticles are needed to replicate complex flow phenomena.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review progress in blood analogue fluids over the past twenty years.
- To analyze microparticles used as red blood cell (RBC) mimics.
- To discuss the dynamic flow and rheology of these analogue fluids.
Main Methods:
- Critical analysis of microparticle properties (size, shape, mechanics, functionality).
- Review of fabrication methods for RBC-mimicking microparticles.
- In-depth discussion of flow and rheology data from literature.
Main Results:
- Various microparticle designs have been developed to mimic RBCs.
- Existing blood analogue fluids often use low microparticle concentrations.
- Replicating the multiphase effects of blood flow remains challenging.
Conclusions:
- Significant advances have been made in creating blood analogue fluids.
- Developing a reliable fluid with high microparticle concentration (~45% by volume) is still a major challenge.
- Further research is needed for accurate in vitro microcirculation modeling.
