Measurements of mass diffusivity of gases in plasma and reaction velocity constant in bloods

A method is developed to determine the mass diffusivity of gases in plasma and the reaction velocity constant with hemoglobin in intact red cell suspensions, in human and dog blood. Oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide are used. A small gas bubble is injected into a flask containing plasma or blood degassed by the use of a vacuum pump. The instantaneous bubble size is measured at certain time intervals until the bubble is completely dissolved in the liquid. Both the mass diffusivity and the reaction velocity constant are calculated from the solution of the mass transfer equation for the diffusion of a gas from a bubble into a liquid, using the initial size and measured life time of the bubble as input data, or the slope of the radius-time curves during the moment immediately following injection. Results are compared and agree well with some existing values.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33620/1/0000128.pd