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Updated: Sep 25, 2025

Measuring Deformability and Red Cell Heterogeneity in Blood by Ektacytometry
Published on: January 12, 2018
Structural Configuration of Blood Cell Membranes Determines Their Nonlinear Deformation Properties
Elena Kozlova1,2,3, Viktoria Sergunova1, Vladimir Inozemtsev1
1Laboratory of Biophysics of Cell Membrane under Critical State, Federal Research and Clinical Center of Intensive Care Medicine and Rehabilitology, V.A. Negovsky Research Institute of General Reanimatology, Moscow 107031, Russia.
Abstract:
The ability of neutrophils and red blood cells (RBCs) to undergo significant deformations is a key to their normal functioning. Disruptions of these processes can lead to pathologies. This work studied the influence of structural configuration rearrangements of membranes after exposure to external factors on the ability of native membranes of neutrophils and RBCs to undergo deep deformation. The rearrangement of the structural configuration of neutrophil and RBC membranes under the influence of cytological fixatives caused nonlinear deformation phenomena. There were an increase in Young's modulus, a decrease in the depth of homogeneous bending, and a change in the distance between cytoskeletal junctions. Based on the results of the analysis of experimental data, a mathematical model was proposed that describes the process of deep bending of RBСs and neutrophil membranes.
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