title: Effects of storage time on the mechanical properties of rabbit peripapillary sclera after enucleation.
abstract: In the field of biomechanics, little research has been performed to evaluate the effect of storage time on the material properties of ocular tissues. Twenty-four rabbit eyes were divided into six groups with storage times from 3 to 72 hr. A tensile specimen was prepared from the inferior quadrant of each sclera and was subjected to a stress relaxation test. The data were analyzed using linear viscoelastic theory yielding four material parameters (E(0), instantaneous elastic modulus; E(infinity), equilibrium elastic modulus; beta, half-width of the Gaussian distribution; tau(m); mean relaxation time). No statistically significant differences were found in the material properties of each group, which suggests that sclera can be stored up to 3 days without risking mechanical deterioration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Girard
authors.forename: Jun-Kyo Francis
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Richard T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: Claude F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Burgoyne
authors.forename: J Crawford
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Downs
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004548:Elasticity; D015353:Eye Enucleation; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D016011:Normal Distribution; D011309:Preservation, Biological; D011817:Rabbits; D012590:Sclera / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013997:Time Factors; D014783:Viscosity