Microfluidic investigation of red blood cell phase separation in complex microchannel networks

In this study we provided quantitative data on the RBC distribution and partitioning in 21 divergent bifurcations embedded in a complex in vitro network mimicking the human microvasculature in terms of topology and characteristic geometrical scales. We found that in the majority of the bifurcations the RBC partitioning is heterogeneous and the branch receiving a higher blood fraction receives an even higher RBC fraction. However, we also found that some bifurcations presented an inverse partitioning with the low-flow branch receiving a higher RBC flow fraction.