Surface tension measurement of normal human blood samples by pendant drop method

Abstract

The surface tension of blood plays an important role not only in the birth and decompression sickness but also in other functionality of the organism. It also provides capillary action during blood flow process. In this article, a simple and low-cost device is designed and fabricated for measuring the surface tension of blood by pendant drop method. In this device, a droplet of blood is formed in a closed chamber on tip of an 18-gauge blunt needle and it is photographed by a camera in very humid conditions (RH = 99%) to minimise the evaporation. A wetted wick is provided at the bottom of the chamber for maintaining constant relative humidity in chamber. Surface tension of blood is inferred using drop shape factor method and image analysis technique at various experimental conditions. This device is validated and calibrated with surface tension measurements of water and silicone oil. Its measurements are in good agreement against data reported in literature. Post-validation, surface tensions of blood samples with and without anticoagulant of healthy persons at various temperatures (range from 20 to 40 °C) was measured. It was found that the surface tension of normal blood samples strongly correlates with blood temperature. The surface tension of female blood was remarkably different from same of male blood. However, the effect of age (21–60 year) on the surface tension was negligible for all practical purposes. Increased percentage of anticoagulant in blood increases its surface tension. This research specifies a baseline for surface tension of normal blood samples at various conditions which in turn provides new insights to pathologists in identifying various disease conditions.

Keywords:

• Surface tension
• blood
• pendant drop
• shape factor

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to recognise the contribution of Amity clinic, NOIDA for providing blood samples. The authors also acknowledge Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), established through an Act of parliament: SERB Act 2008, Department of Science & Technology, and Government of India to use the camera and other devices which bought from Project No: ECR/2016/000020 grant. The authors are grateful to everyone with whom we had the pleasure to work.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.