Young-Zoon Yoon et al 2008 Phys. Biol. 5 036007 doi:10.1088/1478-3975/5/3/036007
The nonlinear mechanical response of the red blood cell
Young-Zoon Yoon1,2, Jurij Kotar1, Gilwon Yoon3 and Pietro Cicuta1
Show affiliationsWe measure the dynamical mechanical properties of human red blood cells. A single cell response is measured with optical tweezers. We investigate both the stress relaxation following a fast deformation and the effect of varying the strain rate. We find a power-law decay of the stress as a function of time, down to a plateau stress, and a power-law increase of the cell's elasticity as a function of the strain rate. Interestingly, the exponents of these quantities violate the linear superposition principle, indicating a nonlinear response. We propose that this is due to the breaking of a fraction of the crosslinks during the deformation process. The soft glassy rheology model accounts for the relation between the exponents we observe experimentally. This picture is consistent with recent models of bond remodeling in the red blood cell's molecular structure. Our results imply that the blood cell's mechanical behavior depends critically on the deformation process.
- PACS
-
87.15.La Mechanical properties
87.16.Ka Filaments, microtubules, their networks, and supramolecular assemblies
- Subjects
- Dates
-
Issue 3 (September 2008)
Received 30 May 2008, accepted for publication 23 July 2008
Published 13 August 2008
-
-
The nonlinear mechanical response of the red blood cell
Young-Zoon Yoon et al 2008 Phys. Biol. 5 036007
-
The design and hardware implementation of a low-power real-time seizure detection algorithm
Shriram Raghunathan et al 2009 J. Neural Eng. 6 056005
-
Rate Coefficient for H+ + H2(X1Σg+, ν = 0, J = 0) → H(1s) + H2+ Charge Transfer and Some Cosmological Implications
Daniel Wolf Savin et al 2004 ApJ 606 L167
-
The Dynamical State of Brightest Cluster Galaxies and The Formation of Clusters
R. Coziol et al. 2009 The Astronomical Journal 137 4795
-
Colossal Seebeck coefficient in strongly correlated semiconductor FeSb2
A. Bentien et al 2007 EPL 80 17008
-
The Extrasolar Planet Eridani b: Orbit and Mass
G. Fritz Benedict et al. 2006 The Astronomical Journal 132 2206
-
Optical Tomography of a Sunspot. III. Velocity Stratification and the Evershed Effect
C. Westendorp Plaza et al. 2001 ApJ 547 1148
-
The Detection of Abundance Anomalies in the Infrared Spectra of Cataclysmic Variables: Shorter Period Systems
Thomas E. Harrison et al. 2005 The Astronomical Journal 129 2400
-
Collisionality dependent transport in TCV SOL plasmas
O E Garcia et al 2007 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 49 B47
-
Implications of a New Temperature Scale for Halo Dwarfs on LiBeB and Chemical Evolution
Brian D. Fields et al. 2005 ApJ 623 1083
Users also read
What's this?- The chirality of ciliary beats
- Modeling cell rheology with the Subcellular Element Model
- Stochastic resonance and the evolution of Daphnia foraging strategy
Related review articles
What's this?- Integrated microcantilevers for high-resolution sensing and probing
- Laser spectroscopy on volatile sulfur compounds: possibilities for breath analysis
- Ethical guidance for the management of conflicts of interest for researchers, engineers and clinicians engaged in the development of therapeutic deep brain stimulation