Mechanics of the human red blood cell deformed by optical tweezers

• Published in: Journal of the mechanics and physics of solids Vol. 51; no. 11; pp. 2259 - 2280
• Main Authors: Dao, M., Lim, C.T., Suresh, S.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2003; Elsevier
• Subjects: Bending stiffness; Biological and medical sciences; Cell physiology; Computational model; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human red blood cell membrane; Hyperelasticity; Large deformation; Miscellaneous; Molecular and cellular biology; Optical tweezers; Shear modulus; Bending stiffness; Shear modulus; Optical tweezers; Computational model; Human red blood cell membrane; Large deformation; Hyperelasticity; Constitutive equation; Human; Viscoelasticity; High strain; Red blood cell; Mechanical properties; Video technique; Numerical method; Modeling; Biomechanics; Finite element method; Photography; Three dimensional model; Mechanical characteristic; Circulatory system; Molecular biology
• ISSN: 0022-5096
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmps.2003.09.019

The mechanical deformation characteristics of living cells are known to influence strongly their chemical and biological functions and the onset, progression and consequences of a number of human diseases. The mechanics of the human red blood cell (erythrocyte) subjected to large deformation by optical tweezers forms the subject of this paper. Video photography of the cell deformed in a phosphate buffered saline solution at room temperature during the imposition of controlled stretching forces, in the tens to several hundreds picoNewton range, is used to assess experimentally the deformation characteristics. The mechanical responses of the cell during loading and upon release of the optical force are then analysed to extract the elastic properties of the cell membrane by recourse to several different constitutive formulations of the elastic and viscoelastic behavior within the framework of a fully three-dimensional finite element analysis. A parametric study of various geometric, loading and structural factors is also undertaken in order to develop quantitative models for the mechanics of deformation by means of optical tweezers. The outcome of the experimental and computational analyses is then compared with the information available on the mechanical response of the red blood cell from other independent experimental techniques. Potential applications of the optical tweezers method described in this paper to the study of mechanical deformation of living cells under different stress states and in response to the progression of some diseases are also highlighted.