Particle migration in areas of constricted flow

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death globally. Among them, some are linked to stenosis, which is an abnormal narrowing of blood vessels, as well as other factors. Smart drug delivery systems based on micro- and nanoparticles are a promising method to offer non/minimal-invasive therapeutic mechanisms. Here we investigate the propensity of particles with different shapes and sizes to drift laterally (marginate) towards an occlusion area in a two-dimensional (2D) parallel plate laminar flow using the Lattice-Boltzmann method (LBM). To verify the outcomes on both sides of the stenosis, a probability of adhesion to the borders was calculated. Analysis was done on the impact of wall-shear stress on both sides of the stenosis. Our results show that rectangular particles migrate in larger amounts and earlier than circular ones.