The role of facilitated diffusion in oxygen transport by cell-free hemoglobins: implications for the design of hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers

MR McCarthy, KD Vandegriff, RM Winslow - Biophysical chemistry, 2001 - Elsevier
We compared rates of oxygen transport in an in vitro capillary system using red blood cells
(RBCs) and cell-free hemoglobins. The axial Po2 drop down the capillary was calculated
using finite-element analysis. RBCs, unmodified hemoglobin (HbA0), cross-linked
hemoglobin (αα-Hb) and hemoglobin conjugated to polyethylene-glycol (PEG-Hb) were
evaluated. According to their fractional saturation curves, PEG-Hb showed the least
desaturation down the capillary, which most closely matched the RBCs; HbA0 and αα-Hb …