Variability in serum surface tension in man
A. Hjelde, A. O. Brubakk

The surface tension of blood may play a role in intravascular bubble formation after decompression. This study involves surface tension in serum derived from two different populations; 25 individuals (group A) and 29 individuals with a high lipid level in blood (group B). The surface tension was measured at 21 - 23°C with a drop-volume method. The mean surface tension in 25 healthy individuals was 68.8 ± 0.70 dynes/cm. A significant intraindividual variation (1.11 ± 0.73%) was observed in surface tension over a period of 6 months. The effect of freezing the serum samples resulted in a mean decline in surface tension of 2.2 ± 0.8 dynes/cm, which was significant. The surface tension in the individuals with a high blood lipid level was 63.8 ± 1.6 dynes/cm, which is significantly lower than that of the normal group. We conclude that serum surface tension varies over time within each individual. The effect of freezing and storing the samples had a significant impact on surface tension. High lipid level in serum causes a lower surface tension compared to normal serum.

Keywords: Lipid level, serum, surface tension, surfactant

Applied Cardiopulmonary Pathophysiology 9: 9-12, 2000

Astrid Hjelde
SINTEF Unimed
Extreme Work Environment
N-7465 Trondheim
Norway
Phone: 0047-73598910
Fax: 0047-73591005
E-mail: astrid.hjelde@unimed.sintef.no