A mathematical model for the blood plasma flow around two aggregated low-density lipoproteins

Abstract

The rheological behaviour of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles within the blood plasma and their role in atherogenesis, as well as their ability to aggregate under certain circumstances, is the subject of many clinical tests and theoretical studies aiming at the prevention of atherosclerosis. In the present study we develop a mathematical model that describes the flow of the blood plasma around two aggregated LDLs. We consider the flow as a creeping steady incompressible axisymmetric one, while the two aggregated LDLs are described by an inverted oblate spheroid. The mathematical methods of Kelvin inversion and the semi-separation of variables are employed and analytical expressions for the stream function are derived. These expressions are expected to be useful for further model developing and screening as well as the theoretical justification and validation of laboratory results.