Measuring micro-interactions between coagulating red blood cells using optical tweezers

Abstract

Agents that alter the dynamics of hemostasis form an important part in management of conditions such as atherosclerosis, cerebrovascular disease, and bleeding diatheses. In this study, we explored the effects of heparin and tranexamic acid on the efficiency of blood coagulation. Using optical tweezers, we evaluated the pN-range micro-interaction between coagulating red blood cells (RBCs) by measuring the minimum power required to trap them. By observing the mobility of RBCs and the intensity of cellular interactions, we found that the coagulation process can be separated into three phases. The effects of heparin and tranexamic acid were examined by observing variations in cellular interaction during the coagulation phases. Heparin attenuated the interaction between RBCs and prolonged the first phase whereas the samples containing tranexamic acid bypassed the first two phases and immediately proceeded to the final one.

Influence of Pulsed He–Ne Laser Irradiation on the Red Blood Cell Interaction Studied by Optical Tweezers

“…Among these methods is the Optical Tweezers (OT), a significant achievement of laser physics with the ability to non-invasively trap, manipulate and displace a living cell or part of it with highly accurate positioning that has deepened the investigation of intercellular interactions [13,14]. Since the first application of OT to RBC interaction study in 1997 [15], numerous significant results, such as quantified RBC parameters (e.g., membrane viscosity and zeta potential) [16] and the effects of heparin and tranexamic acid on the efficiency of RBC aggregation [17], have been obtained. Furthermore, based on the RBC aggregation behavior measured by OT, a sensitive monitoring method for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and its response to drug therapies has been established [18].…”

Optical Tweezers in Studies of Red Blood Cells

“…RBC aggregation depends on several factors including cell-specific properties and characteristics of the suspending environment [141]. The properties of RBC aggregation including degree, speed and size of formed aggregates are important hemorheological determinants that have a direct bearing on the microcirculation and are critical for hemostasis when wounds appear outside or inside the human body [142]. It is important to understand the RBCs interaction mechanism and the contribution of different factors to RBC disaggregation to develop better monitoring and therapy of blood microcirculation in the future.…”

“…Moreover, the comparison of the RBC aggregation shear stress measured with OTs and other shearing geometries at different temperature conditions (in a range of 22-38°C has proven that OTs have great measurement stability and can eliminate the interference of ambient temperature to the measurement results [149]. In addition to interaction evaluation in individual cell-pairs, the intercellular attraction applied on a single RBC by a large aggregated RBC group has been measured by OTs as the minimum optical trapping force to stop an RBC from coagulating to the group [142].…”

Modified Hybrid Plasmonic Waveguides as Tunable Optical Tweezers

“…[11] Meanwhile different nanoparticles can be separated from each other due to their different optical forces which depend on the properties of nanoparticles, such as the size and the refractive index of a dielectric nanoparticle. Near-field optical tweezers have also been applied in measuring the viscosity of turbid fluids [12] and microinteractions between coagulating red blood cells, [13] selection and positioning cells. [14] In this Letter, we establish a series of modified hybrid plasmonic waveguide systems that consist of a high-permittivity dielectric waveguide embedded in a low-permittivity dielectric near a metal surface.…”