Lipid peroxidation and cell viability in isolated hepatocytes in a redesigned oxystat system: evaluation of the hypothesis that lipid peroxidation, preferentially induced at low oxygen partial pressures, is decisive for CCl4 liver cell injury.

An oxystat system is described which is capable of maintaining steady-state oxygen partial pressures (PO2) at levels between 0.1 and 300 mm Hg for hours or even days in incubations of respiring cells. The system was used to study effects of the hepatotoxin carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) on lipid peroxidation and cell viability in isolated hepatocytes from phenobarbital-pretreated rats at various steady-state PO2.

A computer-supported oxystat system maintaining steady-state O2 partial pressures and simultaneously monitoring O2 uptake in biological systems.

A feedback-controlled oxystat system is described maintaining steady-state O2 partial pressures (pO2) between 0.01 mmHg (14 nM-O2) and 150 mmHg (210 microM-O2) and simultaneously monitoring O2 uptake at rates between 0.1 and 120 microM-O2 X min-1 in suspensions of cells, in subcellular fractions and in solutions of enzymes.