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Abstract This work presents the development of a novel approach to model cancer cell dynamics in microcirculation. The proposed numerical model is based on a hybrid continuum-particle approach. The cancer cell model includes the cell membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm and the cytoskeleton. The Dissipative Particle Dynamics method was employed to simulate the mechanical components. The blood plasma is modeled as a Newtonian incompressible fluid. A Fluid-Structure Interaction coupling, leveraging the Immersed Boundary Method is developed to simulate the cell's response to flow dynamics. The model is applied to resolve the transport of cancer cells with realistic morphologies in microcirculatory flows. Our results suggest that the controlling of oscillatory flows can be utilized to induce specific morphological shapes and the surrounding fluid patterns, allowing full manipulation and control of the cell. Furthermore, the intracellular and extracellular dynamics response of the cancer cell is intrinsically linked to their shape, in which certain morphologies displayed strong resistance to the fluid-induced forces and the ability to migrate in various directions. Our computational framework provides new capabilities for designing bioengineering devices for cell manipulation and separation.
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EXTRACELLULAR FLOW PATTERNS SURROUNDING A BREAST CANCER CELL DURING TRANSPORT IN A MICROCHANNEL
Abstract We performed the transport of a breast cancer cell (MB231-TGFb) in a microvessel using high-resolution simulations. Using open-source imaging software Slicer3D and Meshmixer, the 3D surface mesh forming the cell membrane was reconstructed from confocal microscopic images. The Dissipative Particle Dynamics method is used to model the cell membrane. The extracellular fluid flow is modeled with the Immersed Boundary Method to solve the governing equations of the blood plasma. The unsteady flow is applied at the inlet of the microchannel with an oscillatory pattern. Our results showed that the extracellular flow patterns are highly dependent on the waveform profile. The oscillatory flow showed the creation of vortices that influence the cellular deformations in the microchannel. These results could have implications on the destination of the cancer cells during transport in physiological flows.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1946202
- PAR ID:
- 10498171
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the 2023 Design of Medical Devices Conference
- ISBN:
- 978-0-7918-8673-1
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1115/DMD2023-7947
