Oxygenation of hypoxic region in solid tumor by administration of human serum albumin incorporating synthetic hemes

Recombinant human serum albumin incorporating synthetic heme (rHSA-FeP) was tested for its ability to increase O2 tension in the hypoxia of the solid tumor rat model. By the direct administration of the rHSA-FeP solution (10 mL/kg) via the aorta descendens to the ascites hepatoma LY80 tumor on the right femur, the O2 tension of the hypoxic region immediately increased to 3.45 ± 1.43 Torr, which corresponds to a 2.4-fold increase compared to that of the baseline value. These high O2 levels continued for 300 s after the infusion. The rHSA-FeP solution can be utilized not only as a red blood cell substitute but also as an O2-carrying medicine for the effective reoxygenation of the hypoxia solid tumor. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 64A: 48–51, 2003