Electrophoretic Light Scattering: Instrumentation and Application to the Measurement of the Electric Charge of Human Blood Cells.

An instrumentation system which combines electrophoresis and laser Doppler light scattering velocimetry was used to measure the electrophoretic mobility of human blood cells and platelets. The technique is called Electrophoretic Light Scattering ELS, and the measurement obtained from it reflects the magnitude of the negative charge on the surface of these cells. The instrument, built from its constituent components and coupled to a Hewlett-Packard data acquisition system, was used for storage, retrieval, and analysis of the electrophoretic spectra. Subsequently, ELS was used to explore its capabilities in achieving the objectives of this laboratory, especially in deriving physical parameters of predictive value in ascertaining the quality of preserved red blood cells and platelets. It was found that neither liquid storage up to 30 days nor reticulocyte enrichment had any effects on the electric charge of erythrocyte populations. Furthermore, neither induced shape alterations such as are known to occur on storage, nor physical conditioning of the donors produced any changes in the charge of the red blood cells. It was, therefore, concluded that measurement of the surface charge of the red blood cells and platelets does not provide a sensitive enough index to be of value in the quality control of blood preservation techniques.