Effect of Particle Morphology and Rigidity on Margination and Adhesion in a Constricted Vessel

  • Dapena García, Raquel (University of Santiago de Compostela)
  • Pérez Muñuzuri, Vicente (University of Santiago de Compostela)

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Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death globally, with some linked to stenosis, an abnormal narrowing of blood vessels. Smart drug delivery systems based on micro- and nanoparticles offer promising minimally invasive therapeutic strategies. Several types of shear stress-sensitive drug vehicles have been proposed, where drug release is triggered by local shear changes . However, to the best of our knowledge, no existing drug carriers are specifically guided to the vascular lesion by flow characteristics and changes in wall shear stress, enabling both localized internalization in diseased cells and sustained therapeutic release. In this study, we investigate the behavior of particles with varying morphology and rigidity, including red blood cells (RBCs), under stenotic flow conditions in a constricted artery using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Blood is modelled as a Newtonian fluid, while particles are tracked with the Immersed-Boundary Method. Margination dynamics are analyzed through particle trajectories and spatial distributions in response to flow variations, with particular emphasis on the effects of deformability, size, and shape on lateral migration and adhesion probability.