OXYGEN DELIVERY AUGMENTATION BY LOW-DOSE PERFLUOROCHEMICAL EMULSION DURING PROFOUND NORMOVOLEMIC HEMODILUTION

Perfluorochemical (PFC) liquids are inert compounds with high solubility for all gases. Physiological oxygen and carbon dioxide transport was first demonstrated in 1966 by the survival of mice subjected to liquid breathing by being completely submerged in an oxygenated liquid PFC.1 PFCs are insoluble in water, and for the past 25 years significant efforts have been directed towards the development of biocompatible PFC emulsions for use as intravenous oxygen carriers.2 The first product developed was Fluosol ® (Green Cross Corp., Japan),3 which was recently approved by the FDA for use as an oxygen carrier in high-risk patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary balloon angioplasty (PTCA) procedures.4 Major disadvantages of Fluosol include its low concentration of PFC (20% w/v) and the necessity for frozen storage (due to the inherent instability of the emulsion).