Microfluidic Characterization of Red Blood Cells Microcirculation under Oxidative Stress
Nadezhda A. Besedina,
Elisaveta A. Skverchinskaya,
Alexander S. Ivanov,
Konstantin P. Kotlyar,
Ivan A. Morozov,
Nikita A. Filatov,
Igor V. Mindukshev,
Anton S. Bukatin
Affiliations
Nadezhda A. Besedina
Laboratory of Renewable Energy Sources, Alferov Saint Petersburg National Research Academic University of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 194021 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Elisaveta A. Skverchinskaya
Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 194223 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Alexander S. Ivanov
Institute of Physics and Mechanics, Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University, 195251 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Konstantin P. Kotlyar
Laboratory of Renewable Energy Sources, Alferov Saint Petersburg National Research Academic University of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 194021 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Ivan A. Morozov
Laboratory of Renewable Energy Sources, Alferov Saint Petersburg National Research Academic University of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 194021 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Nikita A. Filatov
Laboratory of Renewable Energy Sources, Alferov Saint Petersburg National Research Academic University of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 194021 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Igor V. Mindukshev
Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 194223 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Anton S. Bukatin
Laboratory of Renewable Energy Sources, Alferov Saint Petersburg National Research Academic University of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 194021 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Microcirculation is one of the basic functional processes where the main gas exchange between red blood cells (RBCs) and surrounding tissues occurs. It is greatly influenced by the shape and deformability of RBCs, which can be affected by oxidative stress induced by different drugs and diseases leading to anemia. Here we investigated how in vitro microfluidic characterization of RBCs transit velocity in microcapillaries can indicate cells damage and its correlation with clinical hematological analysis. For this purpose, we compared an SU-8 mold with an Si-etched mold for fabrication of PDMS microfluidic devices and quantitatively figured out that oxidative stress induced by tert-Butyl hydroperoxide splits all RBCs into two subpopulations of normal and slow cells according to their transit velocity. Obtained results agree with the hematological analysis showing that such changes in RBCs velocities are due to violations of shape, volume, and increased heterogeneity of the cells. These data show that characterization of RBCs transport in microfluidic devices can directly reveal violations of microcirculation caused by oxidative stress. Therefore, it can be used for characterization of the ability of RBCs to move in microcapillaries, estimating possible side effects of cancer chemotherapy, and predicting the risk of anemia.
