A method for measurement of the bubble formation threshold in biological liquids.

Liquid under pressure is saturated with a given gas, such as argon, nitrogen, or air, by circulation through a column of gas exchangers. A sample of the gas-saturated liquid is isolated in a test chamber, the volume of which can be increased by means of a moving piston. The piston motion is cyclical with a variable frequency. Pressure in the test chamber is measured by means of a capacitive pressure pick-up. When the volume increase of the gas-saturated liquid in the test chamber is compensated for by the development of gas phase bubbles, the pressure decrease will stop; the recording device will show a pressure plateau, or a dip in the pressure-time course, depending on the velocity of the growth of the bubbles. Bubble formation threshold was independent of the frequency of the piston movement within frequency limits from 1 Hz down to 10(-3) Hz. Most experiements were carried out at a single frequency of 0.5 Hz. This new method appears to have advantages over previous ones.