Fifty years in thermal analysis with biological and medical applications*

Abstract This presentation sums up our research activity in the field of investigation the thermal responses of intact muscle in case of different types of muscle contraction, and thermal stability of important biological/medical samples performed in the last 50 years. Focus is on the next main points: basic research in muscle heat production, structural changes in the different intermediate states of ATP hydrolysis cycle in muscle proteins and muscle fibers, R&D activities to develop and test different dairy products and TA applications in some surgical and medical diagnostic procedure. We have started building a sensitive microcalorimeter to investigate the cross-straited muscle heat production in different types of muscle contractions. We could prove that heat production, contrary to the prevailing view, is not proportional to the shortening, but to the force exerted by the muscle. Having learned about the unfolding properties of the most important muscle proteins in solutions, we extended our studies to muscle fibers. At that time, it became possible to stabilize the different intermediate states of ATP hydrolysis up to the time of DSC measurement. Our biggest success was to prove at very first that the AM.ADP and rigor states differ from each other not only from biochemical, internal molecular dynamic but global point of view too. With our R&D cooperation, a cold spreadable butter was successfully developed. We were partners in the development and testing of different dairy products using probiotic cultures. Our research activity explored TA in a wide range of medical application. We could follow by TA the different abnormalities of human skeletal muscle in leg. TA was successfully used in the characterization of different self-expandable stents implantation in the esophagus treatment. We investigated the thermal consequences of tendon and ligament rupture of leg. We have extended our effort—based on those groups, who try to use DSC in the diagnosis of different diseases from blood plasma—to monitor breast cancer, melanoma and psoriasis.