Oxygen Carriers for a Novel Bio-artificial Liver Support System: Development and Characterisation

Acute liver failure is a devastating condition with higher than 80% mortality. Currently the only successful treatment is orthotopic liver transplantation. The high mortality rate could be reduced if a system could be developed that could bridge the patient either until recovery (due to the liver¿s well-known regeneration ability) or until transplantation. The CSIR and University of Pretoria (UP) have designed and developed a novel bio-artificial liver support system (BALSS) that utilizes a perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) emulsion as artificial oxygen carrier. A study was carried out to investigate relevant aspects relating to the PFOB emulsion, i.e. the formulation, manufacturing procedure, stability, rheology and mass transfer characteristics. The study results are reported in this book, including a proposed mass transfer model for describing oxygen mass transfer to and from the PFOB emulsions. The model is potentially useful for any system where PFOB emulsions are applied as oxygen carriers.