AN HISTORICAL REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN CELLULAR MICROCALORIMETRY

The energy (enthalpy) balance method from the lst Law of Thermodynamic s was crucial to a thermochemical understanding of yeast and the metab olic physiology of animal muscle and nerve. Heat flow not explained by known chemical reactions led to a search for additional processes, bo th chemical and electrical in nature. This approach has been extended to other cell types and has been supplemented by simultaneous caloresp irometry to study catabolic processes under different conditions. Work is reviewed which underlines the potential of heat measurements in un derstanding the interaction of cells with native and xenobiotic compou nds as well as the thermodynamics of metabolic processes.