Ultraviolet Light Transmission through the Human Corneal Stroma Is Reduced in the Periphery

This article investigates in vitro light transmission through the human cornea in the ultraviolet (UV) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum as a function of position across the cornea from center to periphery. Spectrophotometry was used to measure UV transmission in the wavelength range 310–400 n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biophysical journal 2012-03, Vol.102 (6), p.1258-1264
Main Authors: Doutch, James J., Quantock, Andrew J., Joyce, Nancy C., Meek, Keith M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
absorbance
Absorption - radiation effects
Adult
Aged
Biological Systems and Multicellular Dynamics
Cells
Cornea
Corneal Stroma - radiation effects
DNA damage
Electromagnetics
endothelial cells
Humans
Imaging, Three-Dimensional
Light Signal Transduction - radiation effects
Middle Aged
Scattering, Radiation
spectroscopy
Ultraviolet radiation
Ultraviolet Rays
wavelengths
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Summary:This article investigates in vitro light transmission through the human cornea in the ultraviolet (UV) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum as a function of position across the cornea from center to periphery. Spectrophotometry was used to measure UV transmission in the wavelength range 310–400 nm, from the central cornea to its periphery. UV transmission decreases away from the center, and this is attributed to scattering and absorbance. Corneal endothelial cells, which line the back of the cornea and are more numerous in the periphery, therefore receive a lower dose of UV than do those in the central cornea. This is consistent with the recent observation that endothelial cells in the corneal periphery exhibit less nuclear oxidative DNA damage than those in the central cornea.
ISSN:0006-3495
1542-0086
DOI:10.1016/j.bpj.2012.02.023