Effects of temperature and temperature gradients on ion-sensitive microelectrodes

Ion-sensitive microelectrodes are widely used in studies of mammalian tissues. Often the tissue is maintained at 37 degrees C, some 10-15 degrees C above room temperature. The temperature difference between the room and the preparation was found to be capable of altering the measured ion potential by as much as 10 mV. The change depended on 3 factors: the temperature dependence of the Nernst slope, the temperature dependence of the interference factor, and the thermoelectric potential induced by the temperature difference between the two ends of the ion-exchanger column. Certain combinations of these changes can cancel each other, resulting in spurious but apparently temperature-insensitive readings. The first two factors can produce errors when the temperature of calibration differs from the temperature of the tissue being measured. Serious errors in measurements of ion concentration can also occur, due to all 3 factors, if a temperature gradient exists across the ion exchanger column; this situation can easily occur when recording from exposed mammalian tissues. The use of a short ion-exchanger column will reduce but not eliminate effects due to a temperature gradient.