Mechanical Properties of Red Blood Cell Membranes

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Mechanical Properties of Red Blood Cell Membranes

• Yun Ge
• yge_at_colorado.edu
• Supervisor Dr. H.Jerry Qi
• Department of Mechanical Engineering
• University of Colorado at Boulder

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Motivations

• Study the relations between red blood cell
  membrane structure and the mechanical properties.
• Lay the foundations for future study on cell
  disease due to structure defects.

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Background
Human Red Blood Cell Membrane Structure
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Spectrin Networks Structure

• The left figure is the putative location of
  the structural elements of the spectrin network.

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Failure Kinds of Cells Membrane

• Weakening of spectrin-spectrin linkages damage
  membrane mechanical integrity and cohesion.
  (Hereditary Elliptocytosis)
• Separating bilayer-spectrin network linkages
  decrease membrane cohesion. (Hereditary
  Spherocytosis)
• Increaseing of bilayer-spectrin network linkages
  increase the membrane rigidity but it is
  mechanical stable. (Hereditary Ovalocytic
  red cell)
• Increasing concentration of auxiliary structural
  proteins and membrane-associated will impede
  changes in the conformation of spectrin.
  (Oxygenate sickle red cell)

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Previous Work
The (composite) cell membrane structure is
modeled using a hyperelastic effective continuum
material.
Advantages of this model simple and easy to
simulation Disadvantage of this model ignore
the interaction



between the lipid bilayer and the
spectrin network
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Objective

• Develop the model of the membrane structure of
  red cell by including influence of the lipid
  bilayer
• Use the new model to explore the mechanical
  properties of red blood cell membrane.
• Future aim predict the deformation of the
  diseased cell.

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Research Approach

• Literature research and familiar with the
  software ABAQUS and UMAT
• Developing the numerical simulation model
  accounting for the cell structure and mechanical
  behavior of filamentous networks.
• Compare the new model
• With the existing experiment result.
• With prediction from other former constitutive
  models

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The End

• Thank you! ?