2E35 浸透圧によるヒト赤血球の膨張・溶血挙動

Abstract

The swelling and hemolysis behavior of human red blood cells (RBCs) due to the osmotic pressure imbalance has been investigated. Adding the 0.1wt% NaCl solution as hypotonic solution into the isotonic RBC suspension, we experimentally observed an RBC swelling from the biconcave disk to the spheroidal and spherical shape. The time evolution of the surface area and the volume of the RBC was evaluated from the lateral shape on the assumption of the axisymmetric geometry. The results show that the volume significantly increases with shape variation under the hypotonic condition, and then it decreases in a short time. Finally, the inclusion such as the hemoglobin leaks out of the RBC keeping the spherical membrane shape. Corresponding to the experimental observation, we theoretically and numerically calculated the variation in the hydrostatic pressure difference through the RBC membrane during the osmotic swelling. The calculated results enable an evaluation of the hydrostatic pressure differences at arbitrary moment in the swelling process by comparing the RBC shapes obtained experimentally and theoretically in terms of the ratio of major to minor radii.