The initial oxygraphic response of bovine blood as the basis for a rapid assay for drug toxicity

Abstract

A novel method for rapid examination of blood is presented. This rapid assay provides an inexpensive quantification of chemical (pharmaceutical or pollutant) stress on blood. It uses an oxygraph to examine response of blood to phenol, selected as a model chemical stressor. Blood added to a saline-filled reactor produces an initial response (within 3–5 s) in the dissolved oxygen (DO) in the reactor. The initial response is influenced by the amount of blood injected, the temperature of the reactor, and by the concentration of phenol present in the reactor. When phenol concentrations are high (generally 20 000 p.p.m. or more), the initial response may include an increase in DO in the reactor. The dose-response curve of the initial response is presented as the foundation of a new, inexpensive, rapid index of chemical stress on blood.