L. Garciafuentes et al., INFLUENCE OF DYNAMIC POWER COMPENSATION IN AN ISOTHERMAL TITRATION MICROCALORIMETER, Analytical chemistry (Washington), 70(21), 1998, pp. 4615-4623
A theoretical analysis in Laplace's transformed domain based on a powe
r balance represents a suitable model for an isothermal titration calo
rimeter with dynamic power compensation, designed and implemented in o
ur laboratory. A rigorous calibration of the injection system and the
calorimetric response was also made. Using electrically generated heat
pulses, two different time constants have been determined from the ca
lorimetric transfer function and assigned to the physical parts of the
calorimeter. The same was done for a protein-ligand interaction. The
binding of 2'-CMP to ribonuclease A at low and high ionic strengths wa
s used to check the apparatus and the results were compared with those
obtained by other authors (Wiseman, T.; Williston, S.; Brandts, J. F.
; Lung-Nan, L. Anal. Biochem, 1989, 179, 131-137), In this case, the a
nalysis showed a different time constant for the heat source. Independ
ently of the nature of the heat source, the calorimetric time constant
s obtained while working under compensation are always smaller than th
ose corresponding to a noncompensated system. The improvement of the c
alorimetric response introduced by dynamic power compensation is thus
explained in terms of the reduction of the time constants characterist
ic of the calorimeter. This theoretical model can be used to predict t
he shape of the thermogram for any given reaction of either known or s
upposed thermodynamic parameters. Therefore, the calorimetric study is
extended to the other nucleotides, 2'-UMP and 5'-dUMP, which have not
hitherto been reported in the literature.