Reversal of the endocrine toxicity of commercially produced perfluorochemical emulsion

Perfluorochemicals provide a biologically inert system for oxygen transport to tissue. The purpose of the present study was to determine if a simple clean-up procedure could reverse the endocrine toxicity of a commercially produced perfluorochemical emulsion, Oxypherol-E.T. The clean-up procedure consisted of a combined resin and dialysis treatment. The endocrine toxicity of the untreated and treated perfluorochemical emulsions was tested by determining their effect on testosterone secretion by rat testes perfused in vitro. Rat testes perfused with untreated Oxypherol-E.T. secreted low amounts of testosterone. However, the treated Oxypherol-E.T. was an effective and nontoxic oxygen carrier for testes perfused in vitro. The results are significant because they suggest that the endocrine toxicity of Oxypherol-E.T. is caused by toxic contaminants and not the perfluorochemicals. Additional experiments revealed that the fluoride ion may be the primary toxic contaminant of Oxypherol-E.T. The data support the efficacy of perfluorochemicals as oxygen carriers for rat testes perfused in vitro.