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Surface properties and exponential stress relaxations of mammalian meibum films

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Abstract

The surface properties of meibomian secretion (MGS), the major constituent of the tear film (TF) lipid layer, are of key importance for TF stability. The interfacial properties of canine, cMGS, and feline, fMGS, meibum films were studied using a Langmuir surface balance. These species were selected because they have blinking frequency and TF stability similar to those of humans. The sample’s performance during dynamic area changes was evaluated by surface pressure (π)-area (A) isocycles and the layer structure was monitored with Brewster angle microscopy. The films’ dilatational rheology was probed via the stress-relaxation technique. The animal MGS showed similar behavior both between each other and with human MGS (studied previously). They form reversible, non-collapsible, multilayer thick films. The relaxations of canine, feline, and human MGS films were well described by double exponential decay reflecting the presence of two processes: (1) fast elastic process, with characteristic time τ < 10 s and (2) slow viscous process, with τ > 100 s—emphasizing the meibum layers viscoelasticity. The temperature decrease from 35 to 25 °C resulted in decreased thickness and lateral expansion of all MGS layers accompanied with increase of the π/A hysteresis and of the elastic process contribution to π relaxation transients. Thus, MGS films of mammals with similar blinking frequency and TF stability have similar surface properties and stress relaxations unaltered by the interspecies MGS compositional variations. Such knowledge may impact the selection of animal mimics of human MGS and on a better understanding of lipid classes’ impact on meibum functionality.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Collaborative study grant by Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan and in part by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (25462728) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan. We expresses personal gratitude to Prof. Christian Vassillieff (Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia) for the numerous discussions on the technique of stress-relaxation and on the viscoelasticity of lipid films. VT acknowledges the useful discussions with Prof. Isak Avramov (Institute of Physical Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) on relaxation theory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cytology, Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Biology, St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Petar Eftimov

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

    Norihiko Yokoi

  3. R. Kaischew Institute of Physical Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Vesselin Tonchev

  4. Department of Optics and Spectroscopy, Faculty of Physics, St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Yana Nencheva & Georgi As. Georgiev

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  1. Petar Eftimov
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  2. Norihiko Yokoi
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  5. Georgi As. Georgiev
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Correspondence to Georgi As. Georgiev.

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All applicable international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. Concerning the representative data on human meibum these were taken from our previous studies (Georgiev et al. 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014; Ivanova et al. 2015). For this type of retrospective study formal consent is not required.

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Eftimov, P., Yokoi, N., Tonchev, V. et al. Surface properties and exponential stress relaxations of mammalian meibum films. Eur Biophys J 46, 129–140 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00249-016-1146-x

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