Abstract:
Lethal dose experiments in animals have demonstrated that second-generation perfluorocarbon oxygen carriers are
remarkably non-toxic. However, this non-toxicity has not previously been demonstrated in a liver failure scenario. A surgical liver
damage and regeneration model in rats was selected using a well-controlled cross tabulated study design. A large number of
physiological, biochemical, and hematological parameters were measured. No indications were found that intravenously injected
perfluorooctyl bromide emulsion was toxic at the concentrations employed, in either healthy or severe liver injury scenarios. Neither
was there any significant impact on the rate of liver regeneration following the injuries. Bearing in mind prior human clinical studies, it
is therefore safe to assume that perfluorocarbon emulsions are also non-toxic in bioartificial liver treatments.
