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The biophysics and mechanics of blood from a materials perspective

Nature Reviews Materials volume 4, pages 294–311 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Cells actively interact with their microenvironment, constantly sensing and modulating biochemical and biophysical signals. Blood comprises a variety of non-adherent cells that interact with each other and with endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells of the blood vessel walls. Blood cells further experience a range of external forces by the haemodynamic environment, and they also exert forces to remodel their local environment. Therefore, the biophysics and material properties of blood cells and blood play an important role in determining blood behaviour in health and disease. In this Review, we discuss blood cells and tissues from a materials perspective, considering the mechanical properties and biophysics of individual blood cells and endothelial cells as well as blood cell collectives. We highlight how blood vessels provide a mechanosensitive barrier between blood and tissues and how changes in vessel stiffness and flow shear stress can be correlated to plaque formation and exploited for the design of vascular grafts. We discuss the effect of the properties of fibrin on blood clotting and investigate how forces exerted by platelets are correlated to disease. Finally, we hypothesize that blood and vascular cells are constantly establishing a mechanical homeostasis, which, when imbalanced, can lead to haematologic and vascular diseases.

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Fig. 1: Tools to measure and recreate the mechanical properties of blood tissues.
Fig. 2: Mechanical forces and mechanical homeostasis in blood vessels.
Fig. 3: Material properties of individual blood cells.
Fig. 4: Blood clots.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Georgia Tech Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure), which is supported by the US National Science Foundation (grant ECCS-1542174), and the financial supports provided by US National Science Foundation grants CAREER CBET-1150235 (to W.A.L.) and DMR-1809566 (to W.A.L. and D.R.M.) and US National Institutes of Health grants R01HL140589 (to W.A.L.), R21MD011590 (to W.A.L.), R01HL130918 (to W.A.L.), U54HL141981 (to W.A.L.), R01HL121264 (to W.A.L.), K25HL141636 (to D.R.M.) and R21EB026591 (to D.R.M.). D.R.M. thanks C. R. Dillon for advice and useful discussions.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Yongzhi Qiu, David R. Myers.

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  1. Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Yongzhi Qiu, David R. Myers & Wilbur A. Lam

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Yongzhi Qiu, David R. Myers & Wilbur A. Lam

  3. Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Yongzhi Qiu, David R. Myers & Wilbur A. Lam

  4. Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Yongzhi Qiu, David R. Myers & Wilbur A. Lam

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Qiu, Y., Myers, D.R. & Lam, W.A. The biophysics and mechanics of blood from a materials perspective. Nat Rev Mater 4, 294–311 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-019-0099-y

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