Emulsification tendency of silicone-phenylsilicone copolymer.
OBJECTIVE
We compared the emulsification tendency of silicone-phenylsilicone copolymer (DPC; 5%-phenylated, specific gravity 0.984) with that of silicone oil (SO; specific gravity 0.966) and fluorosilicone oil (FSO; specific gravity 1.256), all of which are used clinically as intraocular tamponades.


METHODS
We investigated the tendencies of emulsification in SO, FSO, and DPC. Each was placed in a separate glass container with equal amounts of albumin solution (1 mg/mL) or 1 gamma-globulin solution (1 mg/mL) and shaken. We also investigated the toxicity of DPC in the rabbit eye. Following vitrectomy, we injected DPC into the vitreous cavity and assessed the retinal damage histologically.


RESULTS
The SO and DPC, because their specific gravities, are closer to water, tended to become less emulsified than did FSO. We found that DPC did not cause any severe histological damage in the rabbit retina.


CONCLUSIONS
Highly phenylated DPC is slightly heavier than water and may be used instead of FSO to treat inferior retinal detachment.
Ikeda
T
T
Department of Ophthalmology, Osaka Medical College, Osaka, Japan.
Nakamura
K
K
Sakagami
K
K
Iwahashi
H
H
Sugimoto
K
K
Matsuda
T
T
Tano
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D004655:Emulsions; D011817:Rabbits; D012160:Retina / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D012827:Silicone Oils / Q000737:chemistry; D013046:Specific Gravity; D014783:Viscosity; D014821:Vitrectomy
D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D004655:Emulsions; D012827:Silicone Oils; C105152:dimethylsiloxane-phenylmethylsiloxane copolymer; C054077:fluorosilicone oil