Dynamic evaluation of aggregation and agglutination of red blood cells.

Viscoelastic evaluation of aggregation and agglutination of red blood cells was attempted. A concentric double cylinder viscoelastometer was used for determining the dynamic rigidity modulus and loss modulus of blood sample. The dynamic rigidity modulus of horse blood were measured over a wide range of hematocrit. The relation between the viscoelastic behavior and the erythrocyte sedimentation was examined. The change in the amount of surface charge of enzyme treated red blood cells was qualitatively estimated from the measurements of dynamic viscoelasticity of red blood cells suspension with added poly-L-lysine. The dynamic rigidity modulus of red blood cells agglutinated by adding lectin (concanavalin A) were also measured.