An "on-line" colorimetric method for repeated, rapid determinations of capillary diffusion capacity.

The single injection indicator diffusion method for estimation of capillary diffusion capacity (Crone 1963) has been developed to provide directly visualized, continuous colorimetric recordings of the venous time-concentration curves by means of a two-colour densitometer system. Cardio-Green, bound to albumin, is used as the non-permeant ("reference") tracer and Cr-EDTA as the permeant one. The artificially perfused hindquarter muscle vascular bed of rats is used. Highly reproducible curve recordings can be obtained every fourth minute. Accidental disturbances of the recordings are readily detected. Thus, compared to the fractional venous sampling technique, the present technique has the great advantage of allowing immediately controlled and frequently repeated determinations of capillary diffusion capacity. It is therefore easily used together with measurements of filtration-absorption events, e.g. for frequent quantitative comparisons of capillary diffusion and filtration capacities over a wide range of induced changes in perfused capillary surface area and/or capillary permeability. The main limitation is that the employed permeant tracer necessitates the use of erythrocyte-free perfusates.