title: Characterization of the fluorescence spectra produced by excimer laser irradiation of the cornea.
abstract: The epithelium and stroma of bovine and human corneas were exposed to both ablative and subablative levels of 193-nm excimer laser radiation and the spectra of the induced fluorescence recorded. Two broad peaks in the emission spectra were observed, at 310 nm and 460 nm, with a difference in the relative height of these peaks between epithelium and stroma. The lower cut-off for fluorescence (260 nm) was similar for both tissues. Time-resolved measurements showed that fluorescence occurs on the nanosecond time scale, and an estimate gives the quantum yield for photons emitted in the 260-350-nm range as approximately 1 X 10(-5). The significance of these results in the evaluation of the safety of surgery with an argon fluoride excimer laser is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tuft
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: al-Dhahir
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dyer
authors.forename: Z H
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003315:Cornea / Q000528:radiation effects*; D003319:Corneal Stroma / Q000528:radiation effects; D004848:Epithelium; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011833:Radiation Injuries, Experimental; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence