Shape-Dependent Structural Order of Red Blood Cells

Abstract

In this work, we show how shape matters for the ordering of red blood cells (RBCs) at a water–air interface for both artificially rigidified and sphered cells as a model system for hereditary spherocytosis. We report enhanced long-range order for spherical RBCs over disk-shaped RBCs arising from the increased local ordering of spheres relative to disks. We show that rigidity has a greater effect on the radial distribution of spherical vs disk-shaped RBCs by slightly increasing the average distance between cells. The onset of local hexatic bond order of spherical RBCs in mixed disc-sphere systems coincides with the appearance of clustering of spherical cells as the number fraction of spherocytes increases. Additionally, the radial distribution function in mixed-shape systems begins to change with the onset of local hexatic order and clustering of spherical RBCs. By analyzing the radial distribution functions of RBCs, local hexatic bond order, and clustering, we show that the structure of settled RBCs is dictated by shape. These shape-dictated structures may provide a basis for future tools for detecting RBC shape-altering diseases and disorders.