Effects of bathing solution on tensile properties of the cornea

The cornea is a transparent tissue with the major functions of protecting the inner contents of the eye and refracting incoming light. The biomechanical properties of the cornea strongly depend on the microstructure and composition of the stromal layer, a hydrated bio-gel. The uniaxial strip testing is a convenient and well-accepted experimental technique for characterizing corneal material parameters. It is known that the water content of specimens in this method depends on the osmolality of the bathing solution. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of different bathing solutions on uniaxial tensile material properties of the cornea. The tensile behavior of bovine corneal samples was measured in six different bathing solutions, i.e., hypertonic solution (12% NaCl solution), common preserving isotonic solutions (e.g., phosphate buffer saline, ophthalmic balanced salt solution, and 0.9% NaCl solution), hypotonic solution (distilled water), and neutral solution (mineral oil). It was observed that the bathing solution had significant influence on the tensile behavior of the corneal samples. In particular, the specimens tested in bathing solutions causing less swelling had significantly stiffer tensile properties. Furthermore, a simple mathematical model based on Voigt composite material model was developed to represent the measured solution-dependent tensile properties. The present study suggests that extra attention should be paid to corneal thickness (hydration) in uniaxial tensile experiments. It also provides important data on tensile properties of the cornea; such information could significantly contribute to improving the accuracy of numerical predictions of corneal biomechanics.