title: Experimental evaluation of perfluorophenanthrene as a high specific gravity vitreous substitute: a preliminary report.
abstract: Perfluorophenanthrene, a liquid fluorocarbon with a specific gravity approximately twice that of water, potentially offers certain advantages as a vitreous substitute in vitreoretinal surgery. To determine its efficacy and safety we first purified it by chemical methods used in the preparation of experimental blood substitutes to a level at which it was not at all or only minimally toxic to culture-grown retinoblastoma cells. Nineteen of 22 vitrectomized eyes of white New Zealand rabbits injected with this purified perfluorophenanthrene showed satisfactory clinical tolerance. Light and electron microscopy showed minimal or no toxic effects in the 19 eyes, although uptake of perfluorophenanthrene by some preretinal cells was observed 28 days after implantation. Postoperative light-adapted electroretinography recordings of eight of the injected eyes showed no significant change. Perfluorophenanthrene injected into the anterior chamber of the rabbit eyes had toxic effects on the cornea. If further experimentations confirm our findings, perfluorophenanthrene may be a suitable transparent high-density liquid for temporary use in surgery to repair retinal detachments.
authors.affiliation: LSU Eye Center, Louisiana State University Medical Center School of Medicine, New Orleans.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nabih
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Peyman
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miceli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abou-Steit
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tawakol
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003315:Cornea / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000633:toxicity*; D011817:Rabbits; D012160:Retina / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D013046:Specific Gravity; D013997:Time Factors; D014821:Vitrectomy / Q000379:methods*; D014822:Vitreous Body
chemical_list: D005466:Fluorocarbons; C047722:perfluorophenanthrene