Calculation of physiological acid-base parameters in multicompartment systems with application to human blood

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Biochemistry
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Physiological acid-base balance is crucial for homeostasis.
• Existing models often simplify complex biological systems.
• Accurate quantification of acid-base parameters is vital for clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To extend a formalism for acid-base balance calculations to multicompartment systems.
• To demonstrate the application of this formalism to human whole blood.
• To quantitatively compare multicompartment strong ion difference theory with traditional methods.

Main Methods:

• Developed a general formalism for multicompartment acid-base balance.
• Derived expressions for key acid-base parameters including total titratable base and strong ion difference.
• Applied the formalism to a human whole blood model.

Main Results:

• Calculated values for derived parameters agreed with experimental data.
• Multicompartment equations exhibited similar mathematical relationships to single-compartment equations.
• The formalism quantitatively equated strong ion difference theory with the base excess method.

Conclusions:

• The multicompartment model provides a robust framework for analyzing acid-base balance.
• This approach enhances the quantitative understanding of physiological acid-base status.
• The study bridges theoretical advancements with experimental validation in blood acid-base physiology.