The use of semifluorinated alkanes in blood-substitutes.

Semifluorinated alkanes are useful for blood-substitutes in two different ways: as co-surfactant to stabilize emulsions with perfluorocarbons as oxygen-carrier and as oxygen-carrier instead of perfluorocarbons. Semifluorinated alkanes act as co-surfactants in low concentrations because they are enriched at the interface perfluorodecalin/water. Emulsions with semifluorinated alkanes dissolve about the same amount of oxygen as emulsions with perfluorocarbons. The stability of these emulsions depends on the nature of the alkyl and the perfluoroalkyl chain. Semifluorinated alkanes do not eliminate hydrogen fluoride under clean-up conditions of perfluorocarbons. According to toxicity tests against human carcinoma cells semifluorinated alkanes with alkyl chains are harmless in the examined range from C6 to C10.