Interaction of surfactant mixtures with reactive oxygen and nitrogen species.

Increased concentrations of partially reduced oxygen and nitrogen reactive species damage the alveolar epithelium and either cause or exacerbate surfactant deficiency. For this reason, there is a quest to identify surfactant replacement mixtures, which in addition to repleting depleted surfactant stores can also reduce the steady-state concentrations of reactive species in the alveolar space. Herein, we evaluated the ability of natural lung surfactant (NLS) and two mixtures (Exosurf and Survanta) used clinically for the correction of surfactant deficiency to scavenge hydroxyl radical-type species (.