Oxygen consumption measured with microcomputer-assisted Warburg manometry.

We have developed and tested an automated system that measures in vitro oxygen consumption by Warburg manometry in as many as 16 units that are under the simultaneous control of a microcomputer which requires attention at the beginning of the study only. The all-glass Submarine Volumometers used are readily adapted to automation using a microcomputer that interacts with an infrared photodetector sensitive to manometric changes in the reaction vessel and a stepper motor that can advance the calibrated micrometer in response to these changes. The microcomputer interacts with the user at the start of the study during data entry and subsequently determines volume changes related to oxygen consumption, calculates respiration rates, and prints or graphs the results without further user interaction. We compared this automated system with manual methods by measuring the oxygen consumption of lung tissue slices and by determining the ability of the system to match known volumes entered manually. We found that the results obtained using the automated system were not significantly different from known manual methods (P less than 0.05).