An experimental study of shear-dependent human platelet adhesion and underlying protein-binding mechanisms in a cylindrical Couette system

Undesirable thrombotic reactions count among the most frequent and serious complications for patients who rely on the use of medical devices. To improve the design of medical devices, it is essential to develop a more precise understanding of platelet reactions. Clinical studies and experiments have shown a strong dependence of platelet deposition behavior on the flow. However, today the influence of hemodynamic parameters such as the shear rate on thrombotic reactions is not well understood. For the study of the shear-dependent mechanisms leading to the activation, adhesion and aggregation of platelets, a Couette flow system was used to investigate thrombocyte behavior with regard to well-defined flow conditions at shear-rate values between (gamma) over dot = 400 and 1400 1/s. Results were calculated for physiological temperature. It could be shown that the platelet adhesion density increased with increasing shear rates up to (gamma) over dot = 800 1/s and the adhesion pattern was homogeneous. At (gamma) over dot = 800 1/s, a sudden drop in platelet adhesion density occurred and platelets adhered in filaments. Fluorescence microscopy results of von Willebrand factor (vWF) confirm that a shear rate of (gamma) over dot = 800 1/s represents the threshold where a switch of the platelet-binding mechanism from fibrinogen-mediated to vWF-mediated platelet adhesion takes place.