Damped White Noise Diffusion with Memory for Diffusing Microprobes in Ageing Fibrin Gels

Passive high-frequency microrheology of blood

Indicative of various pathologies, blood properties are under intense scrutiny. The hemorheological characteristics are traditionally gauged by bulk, low-frequency indicators that average out critical information about the complex, multi-scale, and multi-component structure. In particular, one cannot discriminate between the erythrocytes contribution to global rheology and the impact of plasma. Nevertheless, in their fast stochastic movement, before they encounter each other, the erythrocytes probe the subtle viscoelasticity of their protein-rich environment. Thus, if these short time scales can be resolved experimentally, the plasma properties could be determined without having to separate the blood components; the blood is practically testing itself. This microrheological description of blood plasma provides a direct link between the composition of whole blood and its coagulability status. We present a parametric model for the viscoelasticity of plasma, which is probed by the erythrocytes over frequency ranges of kilohertz in a picoliter-sized volume. The model is validated both in vitro, using artificial hemo-systems where the composition is controlled, as well as on whole blood where continuous measurements provide real-time information. We also discuss the possibility of using this passive microrheology as an in vivo assay for clinically relevant situations where the blood clotting condition must be observed and managed continuously for diagnosis or during therapeutic procedures at different stages of hemostatic and thrombotic processes.

Anomalous diffusion in a bench-scale pulsed fluidized bed

We present our analysis on microrheology of a bench-scale pulsed fluidized bed, which represents a weakly confined system. Nonlinear gas-particle and particle-particle interactions resulting from pulsed flow are associated with harmonic and subharmonic modes. While periodic structured bubble patterns are observed at the mesoscale, particle-scale measurements reveal anomalous diffusion in the driven granular medium. We use single-particle tracks to analyze ergodicity and ageing properties at two pulsing frequencies having remarkably different mesoscale features. The scaling of ensemble-averaged mean-squared displacement is not unique. The distribution of time-averaged mean-squared displacements is non-Gaussian, asymmetric, and has a finite trivial contribution from particles in crowded quasistatic surroundings. Results indicate weak ergodicity breaking, which along with ageing characterizes the nonstationary and out-of-equilibrium dynamics.