Red Blood Cells deformability index assessment in a hyperbolic microchannel: the diamide and glutaraldehyde effect

Red blood cells (RBCs) deformability can be defined as the ability of the cells to deform when subjected to certain flow conditions. In this work, a microfluidic system composed of a microchannel with a hyperbolic-shaped contraction was used to investigate the effect of both diamide and glutaraldehyde on the cell deformation index (DI) of human and ovine RBCs. An adequate image analysis technique was used to measure the DIs of the RBCs travelling in the regions of interest. The results show that the RBCs exposed to diamide and glutaraldehyde decrease their DIs and become more rigid.