June 2022
Volume 63, Issue 7
Open Access
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   June 2022
Thin-layer Rheology of Meibum using Quartz-Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation in Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Patients and Controls
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Nicole Macriz-Romero
    Cornea, Instituto de Oftalmologia Fundacion Conde de Valenciana IAP, Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
  • José Y. Arteaga Rivera
    Cornea, Instituto de Oftalmologia Fundacion Conde de Valenciana IAP, Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
  • Silvia del Carmen Jonguitud-Flores
    Instituto de Física UASLP, San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
  • Gabriel Espinosa-Pérez
    Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo Instituto de Fisica y Matematicas, Michoacan, Mexico
  • Clayton J Radke
    University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States
  • Jesus Guerrero
    Cornea, Instituto de Oftalmologia Fundacion Conde de Valenciana IAP, Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
  • Carlos Adolfo Muller Morales
    Cornea, Instituto de Oftalmologia Fundacion Conde de Valenciana IAP, Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
  • Arturo Ramírez-Miranda
    Cornea, Instituto de Oftalmologia Fundacion Conde de Valenciana IAP, Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
  • Alejandro Navas
    Cornea, Instituto de Oftalmologia Fundacion Conde de Valenciana IAP, Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
  • Enrique O Graue-Hernandez
    Cornea, Instituto de Oftalmologia Fundacion Conde de Valenciana IAP, Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
  • Bernardo Yáñez-Soto
    Instituto de Física UASLP, San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships   Nicole Macriz-Romero None; José Arteaga Rivera None; Silvia del Carmen Jonguitud-Flores None; Gabriel Espinosa-Pérez None; Clayton Radke None; Jesus Guerrero None; Carlos Muller Morales None; Arturo Ramírez-Miranda None; Alejandro Navas None; Enrique Graue-Hernandez None; Bernardo Yáñez-Soto None
  • Footnotes
    Support  None
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science June 2022, Vol.63, 3977 – A0257. doi:
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      Nicole Macriz-Romero, José Y. Arteaga Rivera, Silvia del Carmen Jonguitud-Flores, Gabriel Espinosa-Pérez, Clayton J Radke, Jesus Guerrero, Carlos Adolfo Muller Morales, Arturo Ramírez-Miranda, Alejandro Navas, Enrique O Graue-Hernandez, Bernardo Yáñez-Soto; Thin-layer Rheology of Meibum using Quartz-Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation in Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Patients and Controls. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2022;63(7):3977 – A0257.

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

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Abstract

Purpose : The main purpose of the lipid layer in the tear film is to prevent evaporation. The integrity of the lipid layer depends on its rheology, but information regarding individual patients is lacking. We tested the hypothesis that Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) patients present lipid with different rheological properties when compared to controls using an experimental model.

Methods : Ten participants over the age of 18 with MGD and 10 healthy controls were included. Exclusion criteria included the use of topical or systemic drugs, ocular disease with the exclusion of MGD, autoimmune disease, contact lens use, history of eye surgery and pregnant or breastfeeding women. Meibum was mechanically expressed from both eyes using cotton swabs and collected in a clean glass slide. It was then immediately dissolved in 1 ml of chloroform and stored at -80 C until analysis. The samples were measured with a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation. Lipids from single patients at variable concentrations were placed in a clean gold-coated quartz sensor and chloroform was allowed to evaporate. The frequency of oscillations and the dissipation were monitored at 25 C. Samples were then heated to 38 C and the shift in frequency and dissipation recorded. Lastly, samples were allowed to cool down to 25 C. The results of the frequency and dissipation shifts were adjusted to a Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic model.

Results : The results obtained at 25 C are consistent with the presence of two layers, a thin viscoelastic layer at the interphase (elasticity ≈ 2 MPa and viscosity ≈ 4 cP) and a viscous fluid layer (viscosity ≈ 10 cP). Upon warming the samples to 38 C, the layers lose organization and become a single viscous layer with a viscosity of 8 cP. The two layers reformed and returned to basal values when the samples’ temperature decreased to 25 C. The thickness of the viscous layer is greater in controls (≈ 30 nm) when compared to MGD patients (≈ 10 nm) (p value <0.05).

Conclusions : Meibum in MGD patients is less elastic and organized when compared to controls, which may explain its enhanced evaporation. The published information measures viscoelastic characteristics of meibum composed of a pool of samples, not single patients. This method is useful to assess individual patients as it is capable of determining rheological properties in minuscule amounts of sample.

This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.

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