'Gie me ae spark o' nature's fire' - An insight into cell physiology from calorimetry

A formal explanation of Mayer's enthalpy balance method as applied to cell physiology is given with particular reference to striated muscle tissue. Th e approach is then extended to animal cells growing in a bioreactor, showin g its use to optimise their growth and the production of therapeutic protei ns, as well as defining the correct physiological conditions. Attention is then drawn to the value of the calorimetric-respirometric ratio in defining the anaerobic pathways operating simultaneously with respiration under ful ly aerobic conditions. An important field now is to resolve the metabolic c osts of cell signalling cascades, an area that could demonstrate the coming importance of integrated circuit calorimetry.