Red blood cell positional history, sphericity, and network architecture influence lingering and partitioning
Abstract
The transport and distribution of red blood cells (RBCs) through microvascular networks is central to diverse applications in drug delivery, tissue engineering, and the study of pathological mechanisms. Recent findings highlight two critical phenomena: (1) a history-dependent partitioning effect, wherein the RBC partitioning at each bifurcation is influenced by the positional and configurational state inherited from previous bifurcations, and (2) RBC lingering at the bifurcation apex, which strongly affects downstream flow distribution. However, the interplay between network geometry, RBC sphericity (in spherocytosis disease), and these emergent behaviors remains insufficiently explored. Here, we perform 2D lattice Boltzmann simulations coupled with an immersed boundary model to systematically investigate RBC dynamics in both asymmetric and fully symmetric network designs. Our results show that RBC positional history grows progressively with each bifurcation, leading to increasing deviations from classical partitioning laws regardless of the network’s geometric complexity. We further demonstrate that even spherical RBCs can experience substantial lingering due to cumulative apex interactions, challenging the notion that only elongated or pathologically deformed cells are prone to these effects. These findings clarify how RBC deformability and prior apex encounters affect microcirculatory flow.
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BibTeX
@article{bendaoud2026blood,
title = {{Red blood cell positional history, sphericity, and network architecture influence lingering and partitioning}},
author = {Mohammed Bendaoud and Alexis Darras and Yazdan Rashidi and Christian Wagner and Chaouqi Misbah},
journal = {Biophysical Journal},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1016/j.bpj.2026.09.024},
url = {https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-05856634v1},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Red blood cell positional history, sphericity, and network architecture influence lingering and partitioning
AU - Mohammed Bendaoud
AU - Alexis Darras
AU - Yazdan Rashidi
AU - Christian Wagner
AU - Chaouqi Misbah
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/09
JO - Biophysical Journal
DO - 10.1016/j.bpj.2026.09.024
UR - https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-05856634v1
AB - The transport and distribution of red blood cells (RBCs) through microvascular networks is central to diverse applications in drug delivery, tissue engineering, and the study of pathological mechanisms. Recent findings highlight two critical phenomena: (1) a history-dependent partitioning effect, wherein the RBC partitioning at each bifurcation is influenced by the positional and configurational state inherited from previous bifurcations, and (2) RBC lingering at the bifurcation apex, which strongly affects downstream flow distribution. However, the interplay between network geometry, RBC sphericity (in spherocytosis disease), and these emergent behaviors remains insufficiently explored. Here, we perform 2D lattice Boltzmann simulations coupled with an immersed boundary model to systematically investigate RBC dynamics in both asymmetric and fully symmetric network designs. Our results show that RBC positional history grows progressively with each bifurcation, leading to increasing deviations from classical partitioning laws regardless of the network’s geometric complexity. We further demonstrate that even spherical RBCs can experience substantial lingering due to cumulative apex interactions, challenging the notion that only elongated or pathologically deformed cells are prone to these effects. These findings clarify how RBC deformability and prior apex encounters affect microcirculatory flow.
SN - 0006-3495
SN - 1542-0086
ER -