Abstract
Microcalorimetry is a useful tool for monitoring the growth behavior of microorganisms. In this study, microcalorimetry was used to investigate the effects of nitrogen, air, oxygen, nitrous oxide, argon, and krypton at high pressure on the growth of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Growth thermograms (metabolic heat vs. incubation time) were generated to estimate metabolic activity under compressed gases and to determine the 50% inhibitory pressure (IP50) and minimum inhibitory pressure (MIP), which are regarded as indices of the toxicity of compressed gases. Based on MIP values, the most toxic to the least toxic gases were found to be: O2 > N2O > air > Kr > N2 > Ar.
