Saccharomyces cerevisiae baker's yeast cells were disintegrated in suspensions (0.05-0.06 g/cm(3)) by using disintegrators with spherical and cylindrical working chambers. A linear 1st order differential equation described very well the kinetics of the release of intracellular compds. The highest rate of cell disintegration was obtained when the ultrasound generator was placed in the central plane of the cylindrical chamber. The spherical shape of the disintegrator chamber allowed better use of sound energy for cell disruption than the cylindrical one.