Dynamic adhesion and separation of cells in vitro. I. Mathematical analysis of the experimental system

The contact interaction between cells and thewalls of microchambers through which the cells are passing are quantitated in terms of parameters which are estimated from macroscopic experimental data. For this purpose, an analysis is made of the internal geometry of glass bead-columns. A mathematical model is presented which describes the passage of cells down the column. This model relates the temporal pattern of the number of cells entering and leaving the bead-column to the “dynamic adhesive” properties of a cell as it passes through a microscopic section of the bead-column.