Impact of surface tension on the conversion rate of large to small surfactant aggregates.

The extracellular alveolar surfactant can be separated into the highly surface active large surfactant aggregates (LA) and the less active small surfactant aggregates (SA). Conversion of LA to SA is encountered upon cyclic surface area changes and demands the presence of enzymatic activity. In the present study we investigated the influence of surface tension on the conversion of LA to SA.

Interaction between heparin and cardiac troponin T and troponin I from patients after coronary bypass surgery.

Objectives: Heparin is thought to play a crucial role in the clinical monitoring of patients with acute coronary syndrome as well as after coronary bypass surgery in that it interferes with different commercial immunoassay test systems for cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and troponin I (cTnI). The mechanism, however, by which heparin apparently affects the cTnT and cTnI levels in plasma is not yet resolved.

Design And Methods: We analyzed the effect of heparin by simultaneously collecting serum and heparin plasma samples from 32 patients after coronary bypass surgery.