ИСТИНА

Biophotonic technologies (laser tweezers, diffuse light scattering, laser diffractometry and digital capillaroscopy) have shown their high potential in haemorheologic research. We describe our more than 20-years long experience in designing and implementing laser technologies for studying blood microrheology and microcirculation. We evaluate the feasibility of these techniques to assess microrheological effects of various molecular mechanisms affecting erythrocyte aggregation and deformability. In particular, we show that laser tweezers and diffuse light scattering allow for assessing the changes in erythrocyte aggregation in whole blood samples and cell suspensions both on the level of single cells and on the level of large ensembles of cells. Application of these methods in vitro enable one to study the mechanisms of erythrocyte aggregation because they are sensitive to changes in the medium surrounding the cells (i.e., blood plasma, serum or model solutions of blood plasma proteins) and to changes in the cellular properties of the erythrocytes. Using the laser diffractometry technique we are able to assess the distribution of the erythrocytes in sizes and deformabilities. Using digital capillaroscopy we are able to monitor in vivo the alterations of blood flow parameters on the microcirculatory level where the major exchange of gases between blood and tissues takes place. We have been applying all these techniques to monitor and analyze the alterations of blood microrheology and microcirculation in patients suffering from such socially important diseases as arterial hypertention and diabetes mellitus. This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 22-15-00120) and performed according to the Development program of the Interdisciplinary Scientific and Educational School of Lomonosov Moscow State University «Photonic and Quantum technologies. Digital medicine»