Biological applications of a new isothermal calorimeter that simultaneously measures at four temperatures.

Isothermal calorimetry is a powerful technique for the study of kinetics of physical, chemical, and biological processes, for example, of their temperature dependence. A new heat conduction calorimeter that simultaneously makes measurements on four samples at four different temperatures is presented in this article. Results from tests with four biological systems (milk fermentation, carrot juice spoilage, sunflower seed germination, and moss respiration) are shown. In all the cases, the instrument could measure the heat production rate-and thus the process rate-at the different temperatures used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]