Nanoindentation experiment and modeling for biomechanical behavior of red blood cell

The biomechanical behavior of a red blood cell (RBC) is investigated by nanoindentation technique and finite element method. A nanoindentation experiment is carried out to obtain Young's modulus, hardness and load-displacement curve of the RBC, and a 3D finite element model is built to simulate the nanoindentation experiment process. The effect of curvature radius of the indenter tip and friction coefficient between the indenter and cell is considered. The FE results are agreement with the experimental data for nanoindentation of RBC. It is shown that the mechanical parameters of RBC can be precisely determined by the present approach, which contributes to understanding of biomechanical behavior of RBC. The deformation of RBC is obviously influenced by the curvature radius of the tip but slightly by the friction coefficient between the indenter and the cell.