Department of Biology, University of Nevada, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA.
Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. 2011 Mar;158(3):265-75. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2010.11.026. Epub 2010 Dec 4.
Flow-through respirometry is a powerful, accurate methodology for metabolic measurement that is applicable to organisms spanning a body mass range of many orders of magnitude. Concentrating on flow-through respirometry that utilizes a chamber to contain the experimental animals, we describe the most common flow measurement and control methodologies (push, pull and stop-flow) and their associated advantages and disadvantages. Objective methods for calculating air flow rates through the chamber, based on the body mass and taxon of the experimental organism, are presented. Techniques for removing the effect of water vapor dilution, including the direct measurement of water vapor pressure and mathematical compensation for its presence, are described and evaluated, as are issues surrounding the analysis of one or both of the respiratory gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide), and issues related to the mathematical correction of wash-out phenomena (response correction). Two important biomedical applications of flow-through respirometry (metabolic phenotyping and room calorimetry) are discussed in detail, and we conclude with a list of suggestions aimed primarily at investigators starting out in applying flow-through respirometry.
流通式呼吸测量法是一种强大、准确的代谢测量方法，适用于跨越多个数量级体重范围的生物体。本研究聚焦于使用腔室来容纳实验动物的流通式呼吸测量法，描述了最常见的流量测量和控制方法（推流、拉流和停流）及其相关优缺点。还提出了基于实验生物的体重和分类群来计算通过腔室的空气流速的客观方法。描述并评估了去除水蒸气稀释影响的技术，包括水蒸气压力的直接测量和对其存在的数学补偿，还讨论了与分析一种或两种呼吸气体（氧气和二氧化碳）以及与冲洗现象的数学校正（响应校正）相关的问题。详细讨论了流通式呼吸测量法的两个重要生物医学应用（代谢表型和室热测量法），最后列出了一些建议，主要针对刚开始应用流通式呼吸测量法的研究人员。
