Pulsatile blood plasma flow over an endothelial cell monolayer

Abstract

We present a microfluidic cell culture platform for studying the responses of Endothelial Cells (ECs) under pulsatile flow conditions of blood plasma. Through numerical investigations, we explore the dynamic behaviors of the Endothelial Cell Monolayer under both physiological and extreme conditions, including the formation of recirculation zones. Furthermore, we conduct a quantitative analysis of the Wall Shear Stress (WSS) magnitude on the EC surface and evaluate the Oscillatory Shear Index (OSI) to gain insights into the extent of WSS reversal within a single cycle across different spatial locations. Our findings reveal that the ECs deform in the direction of the flow, periodically returning to their initial position, with slight vertical deformation in the nanometer scale. In contrast to our previous observations for startup rheometry, cell membrane thinning is found to be more prominent at the lateral points of the cell protrusion, where fluid detachment from the cell surface initiates, rather than at the top. We further note that negative shear stresses emerge within the cytoplasm. Moreover, the shear stresses within the nucleus remain consistent for both rheometric protocols, while the normal stresses are slightly lower during pulsatile experiments. Finally, the model provides insight into the actual phenomena that arise in vivo as well as the expected behaviors in the vicinity of the endothelium of a vessel.