ABSTRACT
Biocalorimetry has pursued two paths: one focuses on measurements of metabolic heat rates as a measure of the functions of organisms, while the other is focused on molecular biology and has two branches, one dealing with the interactions between biomolecules and the other dealing with the physical properties of biomolecules. Measuring the eects of temperature and pressure on the thermodynamics of these processes is key to understanding the chemistry, and calorimetry plays a central role in obtaining thermodynamics for these processes. e extensive work done on the thermodynamics of metal-ligand binding and of small molecules and ions in solution, which began early in the twentieth century, still provides many of the principles that underlie today’s work on biomacromolecules (e.g., Hansen et al. 1966, 1971a, 1971b; Hansen and Hepler 1972; Lewis and Hansen 1973; Hansen and Lewis 1973; Lewis et al. 1976, 1984; Izatt et al. 1965, 1966, 1977).
