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Updated: Aug 8, 2025
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Microfluidics in Assessing Platelet Function
Published on: November 8, 2024
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A microfluidic method to investigate platelet mechanotransduction under extensional strain
Nurul A Zainal Abidin1, Mariia Timofeeva2, Crispin Szydzik1,3
1The Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis
|February 27, 2023
Summary
Platelets rapidly respond to changes in extensional strain, not just shear stress. This discovery reveals a new platelet mechanotransduction pathway and may aid in diagnosing blood clot risks.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cellular Mechanobiology
- Hematology
Background:
- Blood platelets possess sophisticated mechanotransduction systems for responding to blood flow.
- Existing microfluidic models often overlook extensional strain's impact on platelet activation in free flow, focusing instead on shear stress and adhesion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and utilize a novel hyperbolic microfluidic assay for studying platelet mechanotransduction under extensional strain without surface adhesion.
- To investigate the influence of varying extensional strain rates on platelet calcium signaling.
Main Methods:
- A combined computational fluid dynamics and experimental microfluidic approach was employed.
- Five distinct extensional strain regimes were explored to analyze their effects on platelet calcium signal transduction.
Main Results:
- Platelets exhibit high sensitivity to both increasing and decreasing extensional strain rates (747–3319/s) even without receptor engagement.
- A critical rate of change in extensional strain (≥7.33 × 10⁶/s/m) and an optimal range (9.21 × 10⁷–1.32 × 10⁸/s/m) were identified for platelet response.
- The actin cytoskeleton and annular microtubules play crucial roles in modulating extensional strain-mediated platelet mechanotransduction.
Conclusions:
- This research introduces a novel mechanism of platelet signal transduction driven by extensional strain.
- The findings suggest potential diagnostic applications for identifying patients at risk of thromboembolic complications related to arterial stenosis or mechanical circulatory support.
