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The authors thank Luis Revuelta Rueda from Complutense University of Madrid for help with the animal tissue, and Professor Irene Kochevar from Wellman Center of Photomedicine for helpful discussions.Supported by Spanish Government Grant (PRE2018-086169 and FIS2017-84753-R) ; European Research Council (2018-ADG-SILKEYE-833106) ; NIH NEI P30EY 001319; and Unrestricted Funds Research to Prevent Blindness, NY.

Analysis of institutional authors

Villegas, LupeCorresponding Author

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Article

Effects of Different Scleral Photo-Crosslinking Modalities on Scleral Stiffness and Hydration

Publicated to:Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 65 (8): 8- - 2024-08-01 65(8), DOI: 10.1167/iovs.65.8.8

Authors: Villegas, L; Germann, JA; Marcos, S

Affiliations

CSIC, Inst Opt Daza Valdes, C Serrano 121, Madrid 28006, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Rochester, Flaum Eye Inst, Rochester, NY USA - Author
Univ Rochester, Inst Opt, Ctr Visual Sci, Rochester, NY USA - Author

Abstract

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biomechanical and hydration differences in scleral tissue after two modalities of collagen cross-linking. METHODS. Scleral tissue from 40 adult white rabbit eyes was crosslinked by application of 0.1% Rose Bengal solution followed by 80 J/cm2 green light irradiation (RGX) or by application of 0.1% riboflavin solution followed by 5.4 J/cm2 ultraviolet A irradiation (UVX). Posterior scleral strips were excised from treated and untreated sclera for tensile and hydration-tensile tests. For tensile tests, the strips were subjected to uniaxial extension after excision. For hydration-tensile tests, the strips were dehydrated, rehydrated, and then tested. Young's modulus at 8% strain and swelling rate were estimated. ANOVAs were used to test treated-induced differences in scleral biomechanical and hydration properties. RESULTS. Photo-crosslinked sclera tissue was stiffer (Young's modulus at 8% strain: 10.7 +/- 4.5 MPa, on average across treatments) than untreated scleral tissue (7.1 +/- 4.0 MPa). Scleral stiffness increased 132% after RGX and 90% after UVX compared to untreated sclera. Scleral swelling rate was reduced by 11% after RGX and by 13% after UVX. The stiffness of the treated sclera was also associated with the tissue hydration level. The lower the swelling, the higher the Young's modulus of RGX (-3.8% swelling/MPa) and UVX (-3.5% swelling/MPa) treated sclera. CONCLUSIONS. Cross-linking with RGX and UVX impacted the stiffness and hydration of rabbit posterior sclera. The Rose Bengal with green light irradiation may be an alternative method to determine the efficacy and suitability of inducing scleral tissue stiffening in the treatment of myopia.

Keywords

AnimalsBengal-green lightBiomechanical phenomenaBiomechanicsCollagenCorneal biomechanical responseCross-linkingCross-linking reagentsElastic modulusElasticityInflationMyopiPhotosensitizing agentsRabbitsRiboflavinRose bengalRose-bengalScleraSwellinTensile strengthUltravioletUltraviolet raysWound repairYoung's modulus (ym)

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position 6/95, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Ophthalmology. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-06-10:

  • Google Scholar: 1
  • WoS: 1
  • Scopus: 2

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-10:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 9.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 9 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 9.5.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 13 (Altmetric).

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: United States of America.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (VILLEGAS LOPEZ, LUPE IVETTE) .

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been VILLEGAS LOPEZ, LUPE IVETTE.