Abstract: A method for assessing an effect, such as a treatment, disease, or passage of time on a cellular unit of an organism includes providing a sample including a cellular unit subject to the effect in a supporting medium in a hermetically sealed container. The container is deoxygenated to induce at least one of a predetermined amount of hypoxia and a predetermined rate of oxygen consumption in the medium. Values for variables associated with the medium and/or the cellular unit are determined at each of a plurality of different times. Various combinations of the predetermined amount of hypoxia, the predetermined rate of oxygen consumption, the values for the variables associated with the medium and/or cellular unit, and the times and then correlated to generate a multi-dimensional surface. This surface is compared with another surface correlating corresponding values relating to another cellular unit such as one not subject to the effect.

Abstract: A method for assessing an effect of hypoxia on a tissue includes providing a sample of the tissue in a hermetically sealed container, determining a first amount of a reaction substrate (e.g., protocatechuic acid) to be introduced into the sealed container and determining a second amount of a reaction enzyme (e.g., protocatechuate dioxygenase) to be introduced into the sealed container. The method further includes introducing the reaction substrate and the reaction enzyme into the sealed container. At least one of the first amount of the reaction substrate and the second amount of the reaction enzyme is selected to induce at least one of a predetermined amount of hypoxia less than anoxia and a predetermined rate of hypoxia in the tissue during a reaction between the reaction substrate and the reaction enzyme. Values of properties of the tissue can be measured before and after the reaction to assess effects of hypoxia.