Pentastarch

Pentastarch is a subgroup of hydroxyethyl starch in which roughly five of every eleven hydroxyl groups carry a hydroxyethyl substitution, representing about 50 percent hydroxyethylation. Marketed under the brand name Pentaspan, it is used in clinical settings for fluid resuscitation as a plasma expander, because it remains primarily within the bloodstream after infusion rather than dispersing into surrounding tissue. This intravascular persistence distinguishes it from crystalloid solutions such as normal saline, which migrate into other fluid compartments of the body.