Abstract
Background: The evaluation of blood rheology has been underutilised in clinical practice. We performed an array of rheological parameters measurements to quantify the responses of rat plasma, serum and whole blood to gold nanoparticles (GNPs) of different sizes. Methods: GNPs of various sizes were used in this study. Doses of 0.05 ml of the GNPs were administered to the animals via intraperitoneal injection for a period of 3 days. Blood samples with volumes of nearly 2 ml were obtained from each rat. Various rheological parameters, such as %torque, shear stress (SS), shear rate (SR), viscosity, plastic velocity, yield stress, consistency index and flow index, were measured in rat plasma, serum and whole blood. Results: The relationship between SS and SR for rat serum, plasma and whole blood showed linear behaviour with the 10, 20 and 50 nm GNPs. The viscosities of rat serum, plasma and whole blood with GNPs were decreased with increasing the SR and showed non-linear behaviour. The viscosity of blood serum and plasma was measured at a range of shear rates from 200 to 1375 s-1, while the viscosity of whole blood was measured at 75 to 600 s-1. Conclusions: The GNP size has a considerable influence on the various rheological parameters for rat blood at a fixed temperature of 37°C. The decrease in viscosity of 50 nm GNPs compared to 10 and 20 nm GNPs may be attributed to decrease in number of NPs and GNP surface area. It can be concluded that the GNPs probably cause erythrocyte deformability, and their interactions with blood proteins may cause a decrease in serum, plasma and whole blood viscosities under a given level of applied SS and SR compared to the control. This study suggests that further experimental work taking nanoparticle surface properties into consideration should be performed.
Highlights
Hemorheology is the study of the flow properties of blood and its elements
This study is unique in examining the relationships between various rheological parameters in rat plasma, serum and whole blood after the administration of 0.05 ml of the gold nanoparticles (GNPs) of various sizes at a fixed temperature of 37oC and a wide range of shear rates using a Brookfield LVDV-III Programmable rheometer
The data in the present study suggest that at these shear rates, serum, plasma and whole blood viscosities are influenced by the size and shape of the administered GNPs, the number of NPs and the GNP surface area
Summary
Hemorheology is the study of the flow properties of blood and its elements (plasma and formed elements, including erythrocytes, white blood cells and platelets). Blood viscosity is determined by plasma viscosity, haematocrit (volume fraction of erythrocytes, which constitutes 99.9% of the cellular elements) and the mechanical behaviour of erythrocytes. Erythrocyte mechanics represent the major determinant of the flow properties of blood. In most studies, whole blood viscosity was measured at a few non-specific shear rates, and these data do not reflect the complete rheological characteristics found in these studies [3]. We performed an array of rheological parameters measurements to quantify the responses of rat plasma, serum and whole blood to gold nanoparticles (GNPs) of different sizes
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