Non-invasive in situ simultaneous measurement of multi-parameter mechanical properties of red blood cell membrane.

The purpose of this study was to develop a new dynamic image analyzing technique that will give us the ability to measure the viscoelastic parameters of individual living red blood cells non-invasively, in situ and in real time. With this technique, the bending modulus KC, the shear elasticity mu and their ratio were measured under different temperatures, oxygen partial pressures and osmotic pressures. The results not only show the effects of external conditions on mechanical properties of cell membranes including deformability, flexibility, adhesive ability and plasticity, but also demonstrate that the technique can be used to measure cell membrane parameters continuously under several physiological and pathological conditions.