Blood flow simulation including oxygen transport in zebrafish vasculature with transport dissipative particle dynamics

Oxygen is essential for maintaining vital activities in creatures. Recent studies have revealed that oxygen concentration significantly influences angiogenesis and vascular homeostasis, particularly in conditions such as hypoxia, suggesting that organisms can adapt their vascular structure in response to oxygen availability. Consequently, many researchers are actively investigating the quantitative relationship between oxygen concentration, angiogenesis, and vascular architecture. While attempts have been made to visualize oxygen concentration non-invasively in vivo, challenges remain in achieving quantification. In this situation, fluid simulations can play a crucial role in understanding these complex processes. In this study, we aim to simulate oxygen transport in vascular networks using transport Dissipative Particle Dynamics (tDPD) with explicit modeling of red blood cells(RBCs), enabling quantitative analysis of oxygen transport phenomena. Previously, we have demonstrated that DPD can successfully reproduce the complex interactions between plasma and RBCs observed in vivo. By incorporating the advection-diffusion-reaction (ADR) equation, we can predict the transport of oxygen and other substances in vivo. First, we reconstruct vascular networks of zebrafish from stacked biological images within the computational domain. Second, we perform blood flow simulations using tDPD in the reconstructed vascular networks to calculate velocity and concentration fields. Finally, we investigate the impact of RBC on oxygen transport. Through this research, we demonstrate that tDPD can be a powerful tool for studying mass transport in the vasculature.