Measurement of Oxygen Diffusion Through Cultured Endothelial Cell Monolayers

Accurate values for the oxygen diffusion coefficient (DO2), the oxygen solubility (αO2), and/or the oxygen permeability (PO2 = DO2 × αO2) of substances which contribute significantly to the diffusion resistance to oxygen in tissue are important for understanding oxygen diffusion from capillaries into tissue. One of the possible important resistances to the transport of oxygen in tissue is the capillary endothelial cell wall, because of the high flux of oxygen through this wall out of the capillary. About the importance of this resistance, e.g., Groebe (1996) estimates the capillary vicinity to account for about half of the total resistance to oxygen diffusion, in dog gracilis muscle.