Corneal transparency and scleral opacity arises from the nanoarchitecture of the constituent collagen fibrils
Journal
Biomedical Optics Express
Journal Volume
13
Journal Issue
3
Pages
1485-1496
Date Issued
2022
Author(s)
Abstract
While human scleral and corneal tissues possess similar structural morphology of long parallel cylindrical collagen fibrils, their optical characteristics are markedly different. Using pseudospectral time-domain (PSTD) simulations of Maxwell's equations, we model light propagation through realistic representations of scleral and corneal nanoarchitecture and analyze the transmittance and spatial correlation in the near field. Our simulation results provide differing predictions for scleral opacity and corneal transparency across the vacuum ultraviolet to the mid-infrared spectral region in agreement with experimental data. The simulations reveal that the differences in optical transparency between these tissues arise through differences in light scattering emanating from the specific nanoscale arrangement and polydispersity of the constituent collagen fibrils. © 2022 Optica Publishing Group.
Other Subjects
Collagen; Histology; Light scattering; Maxwell equations; Tissue; Transparency; Collagen fibrils; Corneal tissues; Modeling light propagation; Nano-architecture; Near fields; Optical characteristics; Pseudospectral time domain; Spatial correlations; Structural morphology; Time-domain simulations; Opacity; collagen; anisotropy; architecture; Article; collagen fibril; computer model; controlled study; cornea opacity; cornea thickness; dispersity; electromagnetism; eye tracking; geometry; human; image segmentation; impedance spectroscopy; light propagation; light scattering; light transmission; mathematical model; measurement accuracy; multiphoton microscopy; optic disk; particle size; polarization; pseudospectral time domain simulation; refraction index; sclera; simulation; transmission electron microscopy; transmissivity; transmittance; two-dimensional imaging; ultraviolet radiation; uniform distribution; vacuum; water absorption
Publisher
Optica Publishing Group (formerly OSA)
Type
journal article