Q-Box RP1LP Low Range Respiration

Home Products Respirometry Q-Box RP1LP Low Range Respiration

The Q-Box RP1LP Low Range Respiration Package is designed to measure the metabolic rate of small animals such as insects, reptiles, amphibians, other invertebrates  and small mammals in an open-flow or stop-flow gas exchange system. Automatic calculations of VO2 and VCO2 are displayed in the software during data collection. The Q-Box RP1LP Low range Respiration Package can even be used for measurements of CO2 and O2 exchange in colonies of fungi, microorganisms or headspace above water with aquatic organisms. When combined with Qubit Gas Switching System measurements of respiration rates and RQ are possible on up to 7 organisms (8 channel system including reference).

Learn more about basics of respirometry in our blog HERE.

G117 variable volume insect chamber
Q-Box RP1LP Low range respiration
dung beetle

Open flow measurements of respiration are used for  larger, or more active animals, whereas for measurements of very small changes in pO2 such as during respiration of small insects the system may be used in a stop flow configuration. In the latter, the flow is stopped for a period of time to allow accumulation of CO2 and decline in O2. With the subsequent opening of the flow the gas is swept through the sensors for measurements. The opening and stoppage of the flow through the chamber with the animal is achieved automatically through user-specified periods of time in the software.

Other potential applications for this package include measurements of metabolism from the gas head space above aquatic suspensions. For example, measurement of yeast fermentation. The Q-Box RP1LP can be used to measure O2 consumption rate and CO2 production rate of virtually any biological system in which these changes in pCO2 and pO2 are in the ranges measured by the analyzers.

The Q-Box RP1LP Low Range Respiration Package is modular and components may be easily exchanged to fit other applications such as soil respiration or plant photosynthesis. For measurements of respiration in larger and more active animals like mammals see the Q-Box RP2LP High Range Respiration Package.

  • Modular Gas Exchange Measuring System
  • Includes CO2 and O2 analyzers
  • Components interchangeable with other Q-Box Packages
  • Automated calculations of VCO2 and VO2
  • Both Open and Stop Flow measurements
  • Housed in a rugged box for easy transport and set up
  • Use in a lab or field (with an optional battery pack)
  • Insect  Respirometry
  • Small Animal Respirometry
  • Fermentation Measurements (Headspace)
  • Aquatic respiration (Headspace)
  • Atmospheric Monitoring
  • Soil Sample Respiration
  • Microbe Respiration
  • Q-P103 Gas Pump (1L/min no load) in the standard package
  • Q-P651 Gas Pump (3L/min no load) when used with the gas switching system
  • G117 Variable volume flow-through chamber (1.9cm ID and max length 4 or 10cm)
  • G115 Flow-through chamber (3.8cm ID and 20cm long or user specified length)
  • Optional custom chambers are available
  • G122 Large Gas Bags (2 x 30L)
  • Q-G266 Flow Monitor (1L/min)
  • Q-S102 O2 Analyzer (0-25%) (includes drying column)
  • S174 Temperature thermistor probe (fits in the end cap of the chamber)
  • Q-S151 CO2 Analyzer (0-2000ppm) (includes CO2 and H2O scrubbing columns)
  • A383 Digital Control Unit (DCU) Solenoid (redirects the gas flow from ref. to anal.)
  • C610 two integrated LabQuest Mini data interfaces (6 analog, 4 digital ports)
  • C901 Logger Pro Software
  • C404 Customized Experimental Setup Files for Open flow and Stop flow Measurements and Calculations, manuals and Logger Pro download instructions
  • Q-Box Accessory Kit (tubing, connectors, filters, wrench, screwdriver, condensing bath tube, extra drierite)
  • Rugged weather-proof case housing all analyzers and sensors with power supply
  • Individual Power Supplies for stand-alone use of the analyzers and sensors

Optional Component:

  • Rommelaere S et al. (2024) A humoral stress response protects Drosophila tissues from antimicrobial peptides. Current Biology 34: 1426 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.049
  • Filho BLC et al. (2023) Mortality, metabolic rate and oviposition of Gryllus (Gryllus) assimilis (Fabricius, 1775) (Orthoptera: Grylliadae) females under constant and fluctuation warm temperatures.  Journal of Thermal Biology 114: 103574 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103574
  • Nesvorna M. et al. (2021) Microbiome variation during culture growth of the European house mite, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus.  FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 97 https://doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiab039 
  • Filho BLC et al. (2021) Impact of warmer fluctuating temperatures on the Jamaican field cricket, Gryllus assimilis (Fabricius, 1775) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Journal of Thermal Biology. Available online 25 December 2021, 103145 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2021.103145
  • Vincent CM, Dionnea MS, (2021) Disparate regulation of IMD signaling drives sex differences in infection pathology in Drosophila melanogaster PNAS 2021 Vol. 118 No. 32. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2026554118
  • Hall JM, Warner DA (2020) Thermal Sensitivity of lizard embryos indicates a mismatch between oxygen supply and demand at near-lethal temperatures. JES-A Ecological and Integrative Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.2359
  • Kierdof K et al (2020) Muscle function and homeostasis require cytokine inhibition of AKT activity in Drosophila. eLife, 9: e51595 DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.51595
  • Walker MJ et al (2020) The influence of meal size on the digestive energetics of Gould’s wattled bat, Chalinolobus gouldii.  Australian Journal of Zoology https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20028
  • Ramos-Perez VI et al (2020) Sex-related interannual plasticity in wing morphological design in Heliconius charithonia enhances flight metabolic performance. PLOS ONE https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239620
  • Villa-Bedoya S et al (2020) Heat shock proteins and antioxidants as mechanisms of response to ivermectin in the dung beetle Euoniticellus intermedius Chemosphere https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128707
  • Lin CC et al. (2018) A cleavage product of Polycystin-1 is a mitochondrial matrix protein that affects mitochondria morphology and function when heterologously expressed.  Scientific Reports 8:2743 DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-20856-6
  • Luo K et al (2018) High Voltage Electrostatic field-induced Oxidative stress: characterization of the physiological effects ins Sitobion Avenae (hemiptera: Aphiodidae) across multiple generations. Bioelectromagnetics DOI: 10.1002/bem.22157
  • Han W et al. (2017) Acute toxicity and sublethal effects of myclobutanil on respiration, flight and detoxification enzymes in Apis cerana cerana.  Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology 147: 133-138 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pestbp.2017.11.001
  • Chen Z et al (2014) Genetic mosaic analysis of deleterious mitochondrial DNA mutation in Drosophila reveals novel aspects of mitochondrial regulation and function. Molecular biology of the Cell 26: 674-684 https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/full/10.1091/mbc.E14-11-1513
  • Carver S, Bell BD, Waldman B (2010) Does Chytridiomycosis disrupts amphibian skin function? Copeia 3: 487-495

Q-Box RP1LP Software

Sample data with a 8 meal worms
Sample data with a 8 meal worms
Sample calculated data in open flow
Sample calculated data in open flow
Sample calculated data in stop flow
Sample calculated data in stop flow

Testimonial

“I just wanted to touch base and thank you again for all your help with our qubit low-range respirometry box. It worked great, the students loved designing experiments with it, and it was the centerpiece of our animal physiology lab last spring.”

Dr.Amanda R. Falk, Department of Biologu, Center College, Danville, KY

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