Instrumental method for quantitative evaluation of cell/particle adhesion based on transport measurements in capillary flow. Part I: The measuring system

An instrumental method is proposed for quantitative evaluation of cell/particle adhesion at solid/liquid interfaces. The retardation of convective cell/particle transport is measured in capillary flow tubes (columns), that have been internally coated with the substance under investigation. Ac-operated electronic gating is used for the determination of the elution rate. The technique is similar to that of HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography). Cell/particle transport however, on column, is totally different from that of solutes: transport mainly takes place at a radial distance about halfway the axis and the wall (Segre-Silberberg effect). At specific flow rates of the carrier, cells/particles contact the wall and may be released again as a consequence of increasing lift and drag. The resulting transport retardation depends on the chemical nature of the capillary wall coatings.