Surface rheological observations on human plasma

Abstract

The weak interactions between plasma proteins are of possible importance both in haemorheology and in the pathology of several diseases. The use of surface rheology is a convenient way to study the forces arising between surface adsorbed protein molecules. A surface rheological measuring head has been designed for the Contraves LS-30 viscometer. Plasma samples of healthy human subjects showed a rapidly developing viscous surface layer with a mean peak value of 2.10⁻³ Ns/m surface viscosity at 30–60 seconds. After that the viscosity of the surface layer gradually decreased to zero between 8–20 minutes. The rate of the observed decrease was not related to shearing. There was no difference between samples anticoagulated with heparin or EDTA. The time course of the described phenomenon coincides with that of thrombocyte and white cell adherence to solid surfaces exposed to plasma.