A novel technique for purification of Pluronic F-68 has been developed involving passage through a silica-Amberlite resin column. Impurities present in commercial grade Pluronic could be readily removed, as confirmed by analysis of absorption and fluorescence emission bands. Intravenous injection of a 4% (w/v) unpurified Pluronic solution in male rats increased mean liver weight by 14% (P less than 0.05) after 24 h and increased spleen weight in female rats by 29% (P less than 0.01) after 7 days. No corresponding tissue weight changes occurred following injection of purified Pluronic solution. Haematocrit and red cell counts were also unchanged throughout. We propose that the use of purified Pluronic for perfluorochemical emulsification may reduce previously reported side-effects.
The effects of injecting (10-30 mL kg-1) either perfluorodecalin (FDC) emulsions of increasing phase fraction (20-60% w/v) or the commercial formulation, Fluosol, on lymphoid tissues have been studied for up to 7 days in male rats. Tissue weights increased by up to 123% (P < 0.05) in proportion with quantity of perfluorochemical (PFC) injected, with spleen responses consistently greater than those of the liver. PFC droplets recovered from these tissues at 72 h after injection of 30% (w/v) FDC emulsion (10 mL kg-1) had mean diameters in the 1-10 microns range, with those from the spleen being larger than those from the liver. Recovered droplet diameters were considerably greater than freshly-prepared emulsion mean particle sizes (0.21-0.25 microns). These results suggest that coalescence of emulsion droplets following accumulation in lymphoid tissue is a pre-requisite for the eventual excretion of PFC vapour through the lungs.
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