The influence of red blood cell (RBC) aggregation on blood flow in vivo has been under debate since early 1900's, yet a full understanding has still has not been reached. Enhanced RBC aggregation is well known to increase blood viscosity measured in rotational viscometers. However, it has been demonstrated that RBC aggregation may decrease flow resistance in cylindrical tubes, due to the format...

Changes in the microstruture of blood caused by the red blood cell aggregation phenomenon affect the mechanical properties of the fluid. This fact has been extensively investigated in the past and it has been verified that the formation of rouleaux (the characteristic coin-pile like structures) and aggregates at low shear rates affect the flow and as a consequence the viscosity of the fluid is ...

We report here the first measurements of the complex modulus of the isolated red blood cell (RBC). Because the RBC is often larger than capillary diameter, important determinants of microcirculatory function are RBC deformability and its changes with pathologies, such as sickle cell disease and malaria. A functionalized ferrimagnetic microbead was attached to the membrane of healthy RBC and the...

SUMMARY Anemia is a frequently encountered problem in the critically ill patient. The inability to compensate for anemia includes several mechanisms, collectively referred to as anemia of inflammation: reduced production of erythropoietin, impaired bone marrow response to erythropoietin, reduced iron availability, and increased red blood cell (RBC) clearance. This review focuses on mechanisms o...

Polyhemoglobin is already well into the final stages of clinical trials in humans with one approved for routine clinical use in South Africa. Conjugated hemoglobin is also in ongoing clinical trials. Meanwhile, recombinant Hb has been modified to modulate the effects of nitric oxide. Other systems contain antioxidant enzymes for those clinical applications that may have potential problems relat...

The red blood cell (RBC) is historically the original parent cell of microparticles (MPs). In this overview, we describe the discovery and the early history of red cell-derived microparticles (RMPs) and present an overview of the evolution of RMP. We report the formation, characteristics, effects of RMP and factors which may affect RMP evaluation. The review examines RMP derived from both norma...

The geometric quantities of cross-sectional area, volume, and surface area have been calculated, to three-decimal-place accuracy, using the normal range of dimensional values for mammalian red blood cells. The calculations are based on the formulas for the geometric quantities originally derived by Funaki and rederived by the authors. The calculations for the surface area differ from those foun...

Polyhaemoglobins (PolyHb) and perfluorochemicals are in advanced phase III clinical trials and conjugated haemoglobins in phase II clinical trial. New recombinant human haemoglobin with no vasoactivity is being developed. A soluble macromolecule of PolyHb-catalase-superoxide dismutase is being studied as an oxygen carrier with antioxidant properties. New artificial red blood cells that are more...

We have developed a Mathematica application package to perform dynamic simulations of the red blood cell (RBC) metabolic network. The package relies on, and integrates, many years of mathematical modeling and biochemical work on red blood cell metabolism. The extensive data regarding the red blood cell metabolic network and the previous kinetic analysis of all the individual components makes th...