Fish erythrocytes are bicarbonate permeable: problems with determining carbonic anhydrase activity using the modified boat technique.

Effects of foaming agents (blood plasma, bovine serum albumin, polyvinyl-pyrrolidinone) and defoaming agents (octanol, n-foam) on manometric determination of carbonic anhydrase activity in intact erythrocytes of fish were examined. Foaming agents abolished the activity of red cells. Defoaming agents increased the activity and negated any differences in carbonic anhydrase activity between whole blood (red cells in plasma) and "Cortland" blood (red cells in saline). It is concluded that effects of plasma on the carbonic anhydrase activity of intact erythrocytes of fish measured using the modified boat technique are largely nonspecific and related to reagent foaming during mixing, rather than to the action of a specific enzyme inhibitor.