Photon correlation spectroscopy of light scattered by eye lenses in in vivo conditions

The application of photon correlation spectroscopy on mammalian eye lenses in vivo is revisited. It is shown that the use of a short wavelength laser type and a logarithmic correlator improves the signal-to-noise ratio to such an extent that shorter measurement times are possible without impairing the information content of the correlation function. Experimental correlation functions obtained in vivo on a rabbit eye lens, are analyzed with several techniques. The histogram approach is most successful for the determination of the distribution function of relaxation processes in the correlation function and proposes four different populations of components in the lens. This result is comparable to that from in vitro measurements on highly concentrated solutions of alpha-crystallins and of fiber cell cytoplasm, the former proteins being the main scattering components both in vivo and in vitro in the eye lens system. Our results indicate that the application of photon correlation spectroscopy on eye lenses in vivo offers new perspectives to use this technique as a fast, noninvasive tool to study relaxation phenomena in normal and cataractous lenses. The sensitivity of the method allows it to be used as an important analytical technique in the study of prevention and treatment of cataract.