Intraerythrocyte pH and Physiochemical Homogeneity 1

Summary

In order to determine the physiochemical homogeneity of the human red cell, intraerythrocyte pH was simultaneously measured using the weak acid 5,5-dimethyl-oxazolidine-2,4-dione (DMO) and the weak base nicotine. If a cell is homogeneous, such measurements will yield the same result. If a cell is heterogeneous, the DMO reading will be closer to the highest pH in the cell system, while the nicotine will read closer to the lowest pH. The results show no significant difference between the intracellular pH obtained by either of these methods (average by DMO = 7.10, by nicotine = 7.06 at an average external pH of 7.33). We conclude that the human erythrocyte is physiochemically homogeneous.