Welcome

GLYCOSIM is the acronym for an excellence R&D project (DPI2017-86610-P) in the sub-area of biomedical engineering, funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness MINECO/AEI/FEDER, EU, with €175,450. The principal investigators are two members of the ACP: Drs. Cerdà and Bona.

The project aims to study, through multiscale numerical simulations, the behavior of the endothelial glycocalyx at the microvascular level and its role in the formation of obstructive deposits.

Summary

In this three year project we aim first to create and validate a novel numerical multi-scale method able to perform an accurate description of the blood flow in narrow microvessels (diameter below 100 microns) which takes into account, as realistic as possible, the effects induced by the glycocalyx. Secondly we plan to use this new method to study the rheology and tribology in microvessels as well as the role of the glycocalyx in the onset to the formation of deposits in the microvascular network that can be the precursors of atherosclerotic plaques (atheromata). The project encompasses both numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. Lab experiments have a two-fold objective: provide data for the validation of the new method in real scenarios, and take advantage of this need to study reference systems which have interest for other engineering purposes (e.g. desalination plants). The project aims to fill the current existing gap: current numerical methods available for simulating microvessels or microcapillaries either do not take into account the glycocalyx layer at all or they model it in such a rough way that predictions about the microcirculation in microvessel networks is not possible. Equipped with this new method we aim to provide valuable insight on the mechanics of the human body that could be of high interest to address the effects of some widespread diseases like diabetes or atherosclerosis. The new method we plan to develop is expected to be useful not only to study the circulation in the human body but also to address the rheology near other types of surfaces with polymeric coatings and gels.

Why is it important to do this research?

The project will represent a breakthrough in the area of numerical modeling of microflows near polymer coated surfaces because it fills the current void in the field: the lack of a model able to tackle properly and in an accurately way with the rheology and tribology near those surfaces. This alone would already justify its interest, but, furthermore, the project will provide a good insight into the circulation of blood stream into microvessels and the systemic microvascular permeability increasing thus our scientific knowledge about the mechanics of the human body. The project is also expected to provide data highly relevant for the study of some diseases related to the glycocalyx and the formation of deposits like diabetes or atherosclerosis. To realize about the importance of this, just to mention that astherosclerortic plaque rupture and vessel obstruction together constitute the highest rate of mortality in the western world. Only in the EU, vascular diseases, affect an incredibly high number of people and their treatment costs dictate the budget of all member states. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death (2 million annually) and their treatment costs 192 billion euros a year. Diabetes has over 27 million sufferers in the EU and cancer treatment costs 129 billion euros annually. In addition to the previous diseases, a deep knowledge about the mechanical response of the glycocalyx will be highly beneficial to improve current resuscitation fluids in order to avoid its glycocalyx associated side effects like the production of interstitial edemas. This knowledge is relevant as well in the problem of anaesthetic induced perioperative morbidity due to the shedding of the glycocalyx. Furthermore, in addition to bio-mechanics, a numerical tool like the one we aim to build up in this project will be of great benefit for other areas of engineering and science where complex flows near polymer coated surfaces must be simulated. The proposed method will be able to provide an unprecedented degree of accuracy for the rheology and tribology. Examples of areas that can potentially benefit from the new development are for instance engineering of membranes (e.g. for desalinators or last stages of water purification) or research in soft matter coatings. This project is designed to turn our group into a referent and a key player in fields where we already have made significant contributions, most notably concerning polymer science and computational mechanics. Our computational work on high performance computing multiscale algorithms will have an impact on these and related fields, paving the way to the research in systems which study is nowadays prohibitive due to their excessive computational cost given current available tools.