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Recent studies about lipopolysaccharide (LPS) effects were done on red blood cells in in-vivo and in in-vitro models showed that sepsis (or gram negative bacterial sepsis like LPS infection) had effect on red blood cells. Previous studies showed already the immediate anti- aggregant effect of lipopolysaccharide on red blood cells. Remarkably through those experiments, the red blood cells diameter looked as if it increased, judging only by naked eye from saved videos and microscopic images. But there was no specific confirmation that the red blood cells volume did also increase. There comes the need of micropipette aspiration technique, which is itself an accurate single cell technique that carries some very precise tasks, including the determination of red blood cells volume, in our case, the volume change of red blood cells exposed to many chemicals and proteins including lipopolysaccharide and activated protein C (APC).

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Rabih El Hage, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Studium der Medizintechnik an der FH Aachen. Verkaufsspezialist bei der Mediline s.a.r.l. - Libanon

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