BIODISTRIBUTION OF MIXED FLUOROCARBON HYDROCARBON DOWEL MOLECULES USED AS STABILIZERS OF FLUOROCARBON EMULSIONS - A QUANTITATIVE STUDY BY FLUORINE NUCLEAR-MAGNETIC-RESONANCE (NMR)

F-19 NMR spectroscopy was used to determine quantitatively the organ distribution and organ retention time in rats of the mixed fluorocarbon-hydrocarbon dowel molecule C6F13CH = CHC10H21 (F6H10E), which stabilizes highly concentrated injectable fluorocarbon emulsions destined for in vivo oxygen transport and delivery. The only fluorine resonances detected in the F-19 NMR spectra of the organs analyzed were those of the F6H10E dowel itself, indicating that metabolites, if present, have very low concentrations (<10(-4) M, limit of our assay). The F6H10E content in the liver peaked 1 day after administration (7 days for the spleen). At a dose of 3.6 g/kg body weight, the half-life of F6H10E in the liver was 25 +/- 5 days.