PERFLUOROCHEMICALS AND CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY

Perfluorochemical (PFC) liquids have properties, especially high gas s olubility, which make these compounds useful in medicine and biotechno logy. PFCs are being employed to facilitate respiratory gas supply to both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and, in some systems, to improve biomass production and yields of commercially-important cellular prod ucts. Animal (including human) and plant cells have also been cultured at the interface between PFC liquids and aqueous culture medium, whil e fluorocarbon polymers have been employed as gas-permeable membranes in eukaryotic cell cultures. This paper presents an overview of the ap plications and beneficial effects of PFCs in microbial, animal and pla nt culture systems. PFCs have been compared with other physical and ch emical options for manipulating respiratory gas supply to cultured cel ls. PFC-facilitated improvements in cell culture technology will have increasingly important biotechnological implications.