An immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann model for simulation of malaria-infected red blood cell in micro-channel

The mechanical properties of Red Blood Cells (RBCs) are influenced by invasion and occupation of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf). The corresponding variation results from the stiffening of RBCs and their ability to adhere to endothelial cells. In this study, the transient deformation of Plasmodiumfalciparum-parasitized red blood cell (Pf-RBC) has been studied numerically. The cell is modeled as deformable liquid capsule enclosed by neo-Hookean elastic membrane. The effect of shear elasticity is included, but bending stiffness is neglected. The numerical model is based on the immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method (IB-LBM). The LBM is used to simulate fixed grid while the IBM is utilized to incorporate the fluid-membrane interaction in a Lagrangian manner by a set of moving grids for membrane. The results investigate the significance of elastic shear modulus and initial shape on hematocrit ratio and deformation of Pf-RBC at different stages. The Pf-RBC at trophozoite and schizont stages obtain the lower hematocrit ratio, as they become near-circular. The results are in good agreement with experiments and previous studies. It appears, therefore, that the IB-LBM can be used to predict in vitro and in vivo studies of malaria.