A surface-active agent involved in PVC-induced haemolysis

Abstract

MANY different forms of PVC powders are manufactured, the variety of the polymers depending on the initial constituents in the reaction mixture. Suspension homopolymers and paste (emulsion or microsuspension) polymers form 91% of the total PVC produced in the US. The latter products range in particle diameter from 0.5 to 30 µm and generally have ionic detergents added during their manufacture, whereas suspension homopolymers have no ionic detergent and are of larger particle diameter (60–180 µm). A preliminary investigation¹ had shown that some forms of PVC particles produced haemolysis in vitro and it was suggested that this effect was due to some residual component of the preparation (not vinyl chloride monomer) located on the surface of the particle. The following data support these findings and suggest that the surface-active factor is ionic detergent, used in the manufacture of the paste polymers.