Engineering Adaptable Blood-Mimicking Fluids for Microvascular Applications

This webinar presents the development of adaptable multiphase blood-mimicking fluids designed to reproduce key aspects of blood flow in confined microvascular environments. By combining hydrogel-based artificial erythrocytes with tunable plasma-phase analogues, the system enables adjustment of effective mechanical properties to capture different deformation regimes. Under confined flow conditions, the artificial cells exhibit deformation behaviors similar to those of human erythrocytes, highlighting their potential as physiologically relevant model systems. This work establishes a foundation for future applications, including the calibration and validation of lab-on-a-chip devices and other in vitro platforms for microcirculatory research.