CARBON-DIOXIDE IN TISSUES, CELLS, AND BIOLOGICAL-FLUIDS DETECTED BY FTIR SPECTROSCOPY

Previous studies from this lab have demonstrated the presence of a nov el absorption in infrared spectra of synovial fluid films (2337-2343 c m(-1)) which was suggested to arise from CO2 trapped within the organi c matrix left after drying. In the present paper, we establish the pre sence of this absorption in a wide range of biological fluids, tissues , and cell suspensions, Results of studies with a range of common biol ogical materials suggest that the CO2 interacts nonspecifically with t he protein components of cells and fluids. Experiments with C-13-label ed glucose clearly demonstrate that this ubiquitous absorption is attr ibutable to CO2 produced by glucose breakdown within cells, presenting the interesting possibility of monitoring cellular metabolism by infr ared spectroscopy.