The effect of elevated hematocrit on human blood flow in a microchannel

Blood plasma separation is essential in biomedical assays involving low abundance target molecules, such as cell-free nucleic acid assays. Few integrated techniques have achieved high yield, high purity, simultaneously, and without sample dilution, on volumes compatible with current clinical assays. Non-dilutive operation would require high volume fraction of Red Blood Cells, in effluent channels. To the best of our knowledge, no study as yet investigated the effect of these elevated volume fractions in microchannels. In this work, we have established, experimentally, and for the first time, the maximum volume fraction which can be flown in a microchannel, without hemolysis.