May 1999
Volume 40, Issue 6
Free
Articles  |   May 1999
Pressure-induced syneretic response in rhesus monkey lenses.
Author Affiliations
  • F A Bettelheim
    Chemistry Department, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York 11530, USA.
  • J S Zigler, Jr
    Chemistry Department, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York 11530, USA.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science May 1999, Vol.40, 1285-1288. doi:
  • Views
  • PDF
  • Share
  • Tools
    • Alerts
      ×
      This feature is available to authenticated users only.
      Sign In or Create an Account ×
    • Get Citation

      F A Bettelheim, J S Zigler; Pressure-induced syneretic response in rhesus monkey lenses.. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 1999;40(6):1285-1288.

      Download citation file:


      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

      ×
  • Supplements
This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access.
Abstract

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of pressure on the freezable and nonfreezable water content of the lens. METHODS: Excised rhesus monkey lenses in tissue culture media were subjected to three different hydrostatic pressures (2 atm, 1 atm, and 0.03 atm) for 24 hours. Then while still under the experimental pressure, the vessels were cooled in dry ice-acetone until the lenses were frozen. While the lenses were kept frozen, nuclear and cortical samples were dissected, enclosed in a sample pan, and weighed. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements were performed between -30 degrees C and 30 degrees C. Total water content of each lens sample was obtained by thermogravimetric analysis at 105 degrees C. The nonfreezable water content was obtained by subtracting the freezable water content calculated from the DSC data from the total water content. RESULTS: The total water content of the lenses did not change significantly as a function of pressure applied. This was true both for cortical and for nuclear sections. The freezable water content increased as the pressure decreased both in cortex and nucleus. Similarly, the freezable water/nonfreezable water ratio also decreased with increasing pressure. CONCLUSIONS: External hydrostatic pressure would generate an influx of water into the lens. To alleviate this diluting tendency and to prevent turbidity as a result of dilution, the lens must effect an osmotic pressure change equivalent to the applied pressure. Change in the osmotic pressure is caused by changing the activity of the water (i.e., converting free water to bound water). This is a reversible and energetically the least expensive response. The release of bound water from the hydration layers of macromolecules and its conversion to free water in condensed systems are known as syneresis. In the lens decreasing pressures induce syneresis as demonstrated by the increase in freezable water content and the freezable water/nonfreezable water ratio. Such a response may be operative also in accommodating lenses.

×
×

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

Sign in or purchase a subscription to access this content. ×

You must be signed into an individual account to use this feature.

×