Activity loss on room temperature storage of Survanta®, a bovine lung extract based surfactant

Abstract The rapid loss in Survanta®, a bovine lung extract based surfactant, activity upon storage at 30°C is investigated. During 3 months, the minimum surface tension as measured by both Wilhelmy plate and pulsating bubble methods rose by 8–9 mN/m. Additionally, a decrease in the in situ rat lung bioactivity of approximately 40% was observed. Disaturated phosphatidylcholine levels decreased while free fatty acid levels increased under the same storage conditions. Thus, the presence of both lysolecithins and additional free fatty acids is believed to result in the loss in activity.