Perfluoropentane Explained

Perfluoropentane (PFP) or dodecafluoropentane; also known as Perflenapent (INN/USAN) is a fluorocarbon, the fluorinated analogue of pentane. It is a liquid that boils at slightly over room temperature.

It has several biomedical applications including: propellant for pressurized metered dose inhalers;^[1] gas core in microbubble ultrasound contrast agents;^[2] and occlusion therapy via the conversion of nanometer liquid droplets into micrometer sized gas microbubbles (acoustic droplet vaporization).^[3]

Notes and References

1. Rogueda, P. G. A. HPFP, a Model Propellant for pMDIs. Drug Dev. Ind. Phar. 2003, 29, 39
2. Liu, Y., Miyoshi, H., and Nakamura, M. Encapsulated ultrasound microbubbles: Therapeutic application in drug/gene delivery. J. Controlled Release 2006, 114, 89− 99
3. D. Bardin, T. D. Martz, P. S. Sheeran, R. Shih, P. A. Dayton, and A. P. Lee, “High-speed, clinical-scale microfluidic generation of stable phase-change droplets for gas embolotherapy,” Lab on a Chip, vol. 11, no. 23, p. 3990, 2011.