Ok, I'll respond to your questions point by point:

Yes there is still research being done using PFCs for a multitude of biomedical applications. Due to the failure of the adult trial, a lot of interest was lost in the liquid ventilation aspects of PFC. From a technical standpoint, the technology works. Hopefully good press and public interest help bring back some…

PFCs are a family of chemicals that are denote by the common Florine-Carbon Bond. Certain PFCs, or mixtures of PFCs, have a better spreading coefficient and are very proficient at effectively distributing an agent throughout the lung. Here's a few references for you to look up in this regard:

Respiration in the womb is through the interface of the baby blood with mom's blood in the placenta. The motion of "breathing" of amniotic fluid by the lungs of an unborn infant are practice by the respiratory muscles.

Surfactant and PFCs are totally different things, but they both deal with similar issues. Surfactant is the "soap" that allows the gas-liquid interface of the lung to function appropriately. Premature infant respiratory distress syndrome is due to surfactant insufficiency. PFC based total liquid ventilation…

PFC (there is a whole family of PFCs) has been used actually as a blood substitute. It can be embolized with lipid micelles and used as a gas carrier. There is a limit to the hemotocrit (percentage of blood that are red blood cells) b/c the extra cells create a turbulent flow that increases the risk for clotting. …

The CO2 can be scrubbed out effectively using a modified ECMO membrane that removes the CO2 from and oxygenates the PFC.

If you waterboard with PFc (as suggested in clancy -like war novels) then there is no drowning but mayeb a bad feeling of breathing a liquid... however, when people do wake up from ventilation with PFC, they have not reported any noticeable difference in breathing the remaining PFC as it evaporates out of the lung,

I'm glad that it turned out (mostly) well. Medical technology has really improved with advances in types of ventilation and surfactants developed. Unfortunately, we are still trying to figure out how to prevent the inflammatory damage associated with respiratory distress syndrome and its contribution to…

Actually you are on the money. Some of the first Liquid ventilators used a modified ECMO membrane for CO2 and O2 exchange.

I am a researcher in the lab that ran the 1989 trial and there were infants that would not be alive today without that trial. The reason liquid ventilation is still considered experimental today is political. There were rushed and poorly designed adult trials by the company pushing liquid ventilation that did not…