Composition of fluids from diffusion chambers implanted in the soft tissue and kidneys of rabbits.

The fluids from diffusion chambers implanted in soft tissue and kidneys of rabbits were analysed for total protein, albumin, enzymes, ions, glucose, creatinine, urea, uric acid, bilirubin and cholesterol. These date were compared with the corresponding values in plasma. Our data for chamber fluid are in good agreement with data reported for interstitial fluids. The composition of the kidney chamber fluid is nearly constant from three to ten weeks after implantation. The low urea, uric acid and creatinine concentrations indicate that the chamber is not located in the urine collecting area of the kidney. Three days after subcutaneous implantation of chambers, the fluid contains less protein than plasma but has an equal concentration of ions, thus meeting the principal requirements for interstitial fluid. There are indications that the healing process lasts up to ten days after the surgical implantation. In order to examine the permeability of the diffusion chambers, the equilibration half-life times of antibiotics and substances of high and low molecular weights were determined in vitro.