Droplet impact of blood and blood simulants on a solid surface: Effect of the deformability of red blood cells and the elasticity of plasma

Alginate/xanthan gum hydrogels as forensic blood substitutes for bloodstain formation and analysis

Understanding the behaviour of human blood outside of the body has important implications in forensic research, especially related to bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA). The design of forensic blood substitutes (FBSs) can provide many advantages, including the incorporation of multiple physiological components for use as safe and reliable materials for forensic applications. In this work, we present the design of synthetic alginate and xanthan gum-based hydrogels that contain electrosprayed microparticles (MPs) with and without crosslinked DNA. In addition to the MPs, the alginate/xanthan gum FBS materials include fillers to alter the physical appearance and fluid properties of the material. The optimized FBS consisted of alginate (1% w/v) and xanthan gum (5.0 × 10^-3% w/v), 2 mM CaCl₂, ferric citrate (0.5% w/v), magnesium silicate (0.25% w/v), Allura Red dye (2% w/v), 0.025% v/v Tween 20 and 9.5% v/v MPs. The FBS was tested in passive dripping experiments relevant to BPA scenarios at various impact angles. The spreading ratio (D_s/D₀) was determined for 90° stains made on a paper surface and compared to bovine blood where the FBS was shown to simulate accurate and predictable spreading behaviour. In addition, we simulated other common BPA scenarios (e.g., impact patterns) and evidence processing potential. The FBS could be swabbed, and the DNA could be extracted, amplified, and genotyped analogous to human blood evidence. A stability test was also conducted which revealed a shelf-life of over 4 weeks where the material remains relevant to human blood at physiological temperature.

Impact Dynamics of Non-Newtonian Droplets on Superhydrophobic Surfaces

Droplet impact behavior on a solid surface is critical for many industrial applications such as spray coating, food production, printing, and agriculture. For all of these applications, a common challenge is to modify and control the impact regime and contact time of the droplets. This challenge becomes more critical for non-Newtonian liquids with complex rheology. In this research, we explored the impact dynamics of non-Newtonian liquids (by adding different concentrations of Xanthan into water) on superhydrophobic surfaces. Our experimental results show that by increasing the Xanthan concentration in water, the shapes of the bouncing droplet are dramatically altered, e.g., its shape at the separation moment is changed from a conventional vertical jetting into a "mushroom"-like one. As a result, the contact time of the non-Newtonian droplet could be reduced by up to ∼50%. We compare the impact scenarios of Xanthan liquids with those of glycerol solutions having a similar apparent viscosity, and results show that the differences in the elongation viscosity induce different impact dynamics of the droplets. Finally, we show that by increasing the Weber number for all of the liquids, the contact time is reduced, and the maximum spreading radius is increased.

Study on the Bouncing Behaviors of a Non-Newtonian Fluid Droplet Impacting on a Hydrophobic Surface

The control of a droplet bouncing on a substrate is of great importance not only in academic research but also in practical applications. In this work, we focus on a particular type of non-Newtonian fluid known as shear-thinning fluid. The rebound behaviors of shear-thinning fluid droplets impinging on a hydrophobic surface (equilibrium contact angle θ_eq ≈ 108°and contact angle hysteresis Δθ ≈ 20°) have been studied experimentally and numerically. The impact processes of Newtonian fluid droplets with various viscosities and non-Newtonian fluid droplets with dilute xanthan gum solutions were recorded by a high-speed imaging system under a range of Weber numbers (We) from 12 to 208. A numerical model of the droplet impact on the solid substrate was also constructed using a finite element scheme with the phase field method (PFM). The experimental results show that unlike the Newtonian fluid droplets where either partial rebound or deposition occurs, complete rebound behavior was observed for non-Newtonian fluid droplets under a certain range of We. Moreover, the minimum value of We required for complete rebound increases with xanthan concentration. The numerical simulations indicate that the shear-thinning property significantly affects the rebound behavior of the droplets. As the amount of xanthan increases, the high shear rate regions shift to the bottom of the droplet and the receding of the contact line accelerates. Once the high shear rate region appears only near the contact line, the droplet tends to fully rebound even on a hydrophobic surface. Through the impact maps of various droplets, we found that the maximum dimensionless height H_max^* of the droplet increases almost linearly with We as H_max^* ∼ αWe. In addition, a critical value H_max, c^* for the distinction between deposition and rebound for droplets on the hydrophobic surface has been theoretically derived. The prediction of the model shows good consistency with the experimental results.

A particulate blood analogue based on artificial viscoelastic blood plasma and RBC-like microparticles at a concentration matching the human haematocrit

There has been enormous interest in the production of fluids with rheological properties similar to those of real blood over the last few years. Application fields range from biomicrofluidics (microscale) to forensic science (macroscale). The inclusion of flexible microparticles in blood analogue fluids has been demonstrated to be essential in order to reproduce the behaviour of blood flow in these fields. Here, we describe a protocol to produce a whole human blood analogue composed of a proposed plasma analogue and flexible spherical microparticles that mimic the key structural attributes of RBCs (size and mechanical properties), at a concentration matching the human haematocrit (∼42% by volume). Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) flexible microparticles were used to mimic RBCs, whose capability to deform is tunable by means of the mixing ratio of the PDMS precursor. Their flow through glass micronozzles allowed us to find the appropriate mixing ratio of PDMS to have approximately the same Young's modulus (E) as that exhibited by real RBCs. Shear and extensional rheology and microrheology techniques were used to match the properties exhibited by human plasma and whole blood at body temperature (37 °C). Finally, we study the flow of our proposed fluid through a microfluidic channel, showing the in vitro reproduction of the multiphase flow effects taking place in the human microcirculatory system, such as the cell-free layer (CFL) and the Fåhræus-Lindqvist effect. A macroscale application in the field of forensic science is also presented, concerning the impact of our blood analogue droplets on a solid surface for bloodstain pattern analysis.