Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Biophysical Journal logoLink to Biophysical Journal
. 1978 Nov;24(2):463–487. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(78)85395-8

Theoretical and experimental studies on viscoelastic properties of erythrocyte membrane.

S Chien, K L Sung, R Skalak, S Usami, A Tözeren
PMCID: PMC1473410  PMID: 728524

Abstract

The deformation of a portion of erythrocyte during aspirational entry into a micropipette has been analyzed on the basis of a constant area deformation of an infinite plane membrane into a cylindrical tube. Consideration of the equilibrium of the membrane at the tip of the pipette has generated the relation between the aspirated length and the dimensionless time during deformational entry as well as during relaxation after the removal of aspiration pressure. Experimental studies on deformation and relaxation of normal human erythrocytes were performed with the use of micropipettes and a video dimension analyzer which allowed the continuous recording of the time-courses. The deformation consisted of an initial rapid phase with a membrane viscosity (range 0.6 x 10(-4) to 4 x 10(-4) dyn.s/cm) varying inversely with the degree of deformation and a later slow phase with a high membrane viscosity (mean 2.06 x 10(-2) dyn.s/cm) which was not correlated with the degree of deformation. The membrane viscosity of the recovery phase after 20 s of deformation (mean 5.44 x 10(-4) dyn.s/cm) was also independent of the degree of deformation. When determined after a short period of deformation (e.g., 2 s), however, membrane viscosity of the recovery phase became lower and agreed with that of the deformation phase. These results suggest that the rheological properties of the membrane can undergo dynamic changes depending on the extent and duration of deformation, reflecting molecular rearrangement in response to membrane strain.

Full text

PDF
463

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Evans E. A. A new material concept for the red cell membrane. Biophys J. 1973 Sep;13(9):926–940. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(73)86035-7. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Evans E. A., Hochmuth R. M. A solid-liquid composite model of the red cell membrane. J Membr Biol. 1977 Jan 28;30(4):351–362. doi: 10.1007/BF01869676. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Evans E. A., Hochmuth R. M. Membrane viscoelasticity. Biophys J. 1976 Jan;16(1):1–11. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(76)85658-5. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Evans E. A., Hochmuth R. M. Membrane viscoplastic flow. Biophys J. 1976 Jan;16(1):13–26. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(76)85659-7. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Evans E. A., La Celle P. L. Intrinsic material properties of the erythrocyte membrane indicated by mechanical analysis of deformation. Blood. 1975 Jan;45(1):29–43. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Evans E. A. New membrane concept applied to the analysis of fluid shear- and micropipette-deformed red blood cells. Biophys J. 1973 Sep;13(9):941–954. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(73)86036-9. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hochmuth R. M., Mohandas N., Blackshear P. L., Jr Measurement of the elastic modulus for red cell membrane using a fluid mechanical technique. Biophys J. 1973 Aug;13(8):747–762. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(73)86021-7. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. RAND R. P. MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE RED CELL MEMBRANE. II. VISCOELASTIC BREAKDOWN OF THE MEMBRANE. Biophys J. 1964 Jul;4:303–316. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3495(64)86784-9. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Schmid-Schoenbein G. W., Zweifach B. W. RBC velocity profiles in arterioles and venules of the rabbit omentum. Microvasc Res. 1975 Sep;10(2):153–164. doi: 10.1016/0026-2862(75)90003-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Schmid-Schönbein H. Microrheology of erythrocytes, blood viscosity, and the distribution of blood flow in the microcirculation. Int Rev Physiol. 1976;9:1–62. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Singer S. J. The molecular organization of membranes. Annu Rev Biochem. 1974;43(0):805–833. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.43.070174.004105. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Skalak R. Modelling the mechanical behavior of red blood cells. Biorheology. 1973 Jun;10(2):229–238. doi: 10.3233/bir-1973-10215. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Skalak R., Tozeren A., Zarda R. P., Chien S. Strain energy function of red blood cell membranes. Biophys J. 1973 Mar;13(3):245–264. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(73)85983-1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Waugh R., Evans E. A. Viscoelastic properties of erythrocyte membranes of different vertebrate animals. Microvasc Res. 1976 Nov;12(3):291–304. doi: 10.1016/0026-2862(76)90027-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Biophysical Journal are provided here courtesy of The Biophysical Society

RESOURCES