Physico-chemical factors of erythrocyte deformability.

The aim of this study is to assess the role of different physico-chemical factors on the deformability measurements by using the initial filtration flow rate method, and to differentiate between the membrane or internal origin of some rigidity changes. The deformability is maximum for the physiological pH value and it decreases sharply for hypotonic and hypertonic buffer. For normal RBC, the deformability is independent of the pO2 level and a small decrease is observed for increasing pCO2 values (with constant pH). A theoretical model of filtration for the "Hemorheometre" will be also developed.