Effect of hydrogen peroxide on erythrocyte temperature in vitro

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is produced by most human cells. Cellular enzymes determine the features of the chemico-biological interaction between cells and hydrogen peroxide. The catalase is main intracellular enzyme that inactivates H2O2 in cells, in particular, erythrocytes. Catalase decomposes hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen with the release of energy. However, until now, there is no convincing scientific data proving that the temperature of the cells changes when adding a solution of hydrogen peroxide. We conducted studies on how H2O2 solutions with different concentrations affect the change in erythrocytes temperature in vitro. Our results proved that toxic doses of hydrogen peroxide increase the temperature of red blood cells. •Doses of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) above normal can cause a local increase in the temperature of erythrocytes.•The degree of increase in the temperature of red blood cells at the point of mixing directly depends on H2O2 concentration.•The increase in temperature results from the increase in the erythrocyte catalase activity.