Liquid breathing can not effectively protect the lung from biophysical forces associated with the gas ventilator. New application modes for PFC have been developed. Partial liquid ventilation (PLV) involves filling the lungs with a fluid. This fluid is perfluorocarbon, also called Liquivent or Perflubron. The liquid has some unique properties. It has a very low surface tension, similar to surfactant, a substance that is produced in the lungs to prevent the alveoli from collapsing and sticking together during exhalation. It also has a high density, oxygen readily diffuses through it, and it may have some anti-inflammatory properties. In PLV, the lungs are
Surface tension of same type are called cohesive forces while those acting between the molecules of different types are called adhesive forces. When cohesive forces are stronger than adhesives forces, the liquid acquires a convex meniscus (as mercury in a glass container). On the other hand, when adhesive forces are stronger, the surface of the liquid curves up (as water in a glass). Surface tension is responsible for the shape of liquid droplets. Although easily deformed, droplets of water tend to be pulled into a spherical shape by the imbalance in cohesive forces of the surface layer. In the absence of other