Fractal approach to the rheology of concentrated cell suspensions

Andreea Iordan (1) , Alain Duperray (2) , Claude Verdier (1)

1 LSP - Laboratoire de Spectrométrie Physique
2 INSERM U823 - Institut d'oncologie/développement Albert Bonniot de Grenoble

Results on the rheological behavior of CHO cell suspensions in a large range of concentrations are reported. The concentration–dependent yield stress and elastic plateau modulus are formalized in the context of fractal aggregates under shear, and quite different exponents are found as compared to the case of red blood cell suspensions. This is explained in terms of intrinsic microscopic parameters such as the cell-cell adhesion energy and cell elasticity but also the cell's individual dynamic properties, found to correlate well with viscoelastic data at large concentrations (phi>0.5)

Mots clés: rheology; fractal; suspension; cells; yield stress

Domaines: Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]

Andreea Iordan, Alain Duperray, Claude Verdier. Fractal approach to the rheology of concentrated cell suspensions. Physical Review E : Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, 2008, 77, pp.011911. ⟨hal-00196481⟩