Several methods utilized for the assessment of biocompatibility of perfluorochemicals

An overview is presented on methods used to judge the effect of different perfluorochemicals (PFCs) on functional organ changes. By some of these methods the function of the reticuloendothelial system (RES) after a load with PFC was tested, either globally in form of the clearance of colloidal carbon particles or by a magnetometric method to test the phagocytosing function of macrophages within the liver of rats. An endotoxin test on survival of mice after the combined treatment with lipopolysaccharides of E. coli and PFCs showed the importance of a cumulative effect of multiple factors influencing phagocytosis. Other methods examined the influence of PFCs on lipid peroxidation during reperfusion of the ischemic intestine or on the effects of hyperbaric oxygen on the lung. The half-life (mean dwell time) of PFCs within organs with a high storage rate could optimally be determined by means of 19F magnetic resonance imaging in longitudinal studies within the same animal. An influence of PFCs on hepatocytes was tested by determining the time required for detoxifying pentobarbital as measured by the sleeping time (until reappearance of the righting reflex). By all these tests a strong dose-dependence was found, so that effects observed with a high load may become negligible with smaller dosages.