NMR water-proton spin-lattice relaxation time of human red blood cells and red blood cell suspensions

NMR water-proton spin-lattice relaxation times were studied as probes of water structure in human red blood cells and red blood cell suspensions. Normal saline had a relaxation time of about 3000 ms while packed red blood cells had a relaxation time of about 500 ms. The relaxation time of a red cell suspension at 50% hematocrit was about 750 ms showing that surface charges and polar groups of the red cell membrane effectively structure extracellular water. Incubation of red cells in hypotonic saline increases relaxation time whereas hypertonic saline decreases relaxation time. Relaxation times varied independently of mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration in a sample population. Studies with lysates and resealed membrane ghosts show that hemoglobin is very effective in lowering water-proton relaxation time whereas resealed membrane ghosts in the absence of hemoglobin are less effective than intact red cells.