Cell Biology JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Platelet Adhesion and Aggregation Under Flow using Microfluidic Flow Cells

Name: Platelet Adhesion and Aggregation Under Flow using Microfluidic Flow Cells
Uploaded: 2026-06-04
Duration: 10 min 10 s
Description: Platelet aggregation occurs in response to vascular injury where the extracellular matrix below the endothelium has been exposed. The platelet adhesion ...

DOI: 10.3791/1644-v

What you'll learn

✓ Set up and prime microfluidic flow cells for platelet adhesion assays
✓ Prepare whole blood samples with GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors for flow experiments
✓ Operate a microfluidic workstation to measure platelet aggregation under physiological shear
✓ Interpret real-time platelet adhesion and aggregation data from flow cytometry

Protocol

The platelet adhesion cascade takes place in the presence of shear flow, a factor not accounted for in conventional (static) well-plate assays. This article reports on a platelet-aggregation assay utilizing a microfluidic well-plate format to emulate physiological shear flow conditions.

Difficulty

advanced

Total time

~3–4 hours per experiment (including sample preparation, channel priming, and run time)

Model organism

Human whole blood

Biosafety

BSL-1

Steps

Introduce platelet adhesion cascade and shear flow physiology

Overview of why static assays are insufficient and how microfluidic systems emulate in vivo hemodynamic conditions for platelet aggregation studies.

▶ 00:57

Prime and prepare microfluidic flow cell channels

Load and activate microfluidic plate channels on the BioFlux platform, including surface coating and flow validation to ensure proper channel integrity and adhesion substrate preparation.

▶ 01:16

Prepare whole blood with GPIIb/IIIa inhibitory antibody

Aliquot human whole blood and treat with GPIIb/IIIa blocking antibody to selectively inhibit integrin-mediated platelet aggregation for comparative analysis.

▶ 04:34

Execute flow cell assay on BF1000 microfluidic workstation

Load prepared blood samples into the BioFlux system, set flow parameters to physiological shear rates, and run the automated adhesion and aggregation protocol.

▶ 05:41

Analyze platelet adhesion and aggregation kinetics results

Review real-time microscopy data and quantitative metrics for platelet accumulation, aggregate size, and dynamics under flow conditions with and without GPIIb/IIIa inhibition.

▶ 08:19

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