The Lipid Layer: The Outer Surface of the Ocular Surface Tear Film

2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. McCulley ◽  
Ward E. Shine

The outer layer of the tear film—the lipid layer—has numerous functions. It is a composite monolayer composed of a polar phase with surfactant properties and a nonpolar phase. In order to achieve an effective lipid layer, the nonpolar phase, which retards water vapor transmission, is dependent on a properly structured polar phase. Additionally, this composite lipid layer must maintain its integrity during a blink. The phases of the lipid layer depend on both lipid type as well as fatty acid and alcohol composition for functionality. Surprisingly, the importance of the composition of the aqueous layer of the tear film in proper structuring of the lipid layer has not been recognized. Finally, lipid layer abnormalities and their relationship to ocular disease are beginning to be clarified.

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (22) ◽  
pp. 4225-4240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Mastropasqua ◽  
Luca Agnifili ◽  
Leonardo Mastropasqua

: The Tear Film (TF) is a trilaminar and dynamic fluid covering the entire Ocular Surface (OS), consisting of a mucus, aqueous, and lipid layer deeply interacting between them. Because of its structure and functions, TF plays a pivotal role in the preservation of the OS integrity and the quality of vision. Medical therapy for glaucoma is recognized to profoundly disturb the OS homeostasis by altering all components of the ocular surface unit, including TF. The presence of preservatives, the number of daily eye drops instillations, and the duration of therapy are the main contributors to TF changes. From the physio-pathological side, TF alterations are induced by toxic and allergic mechanisms and result from goblet cell and Meibomian gland loss, dysfunction of accessory lacrimal glands, and epithelial disruption. : In detail, TF changes are represented by mucus layer thinning, reduced mucin concentration, aqueous layer volume reduction, and lipid layer thinning with increased tear evaporation. Hyper- osmolarity and instability represent the main hallmarks of these changes and are an expression of a iatrogenic form of dry eye. TF undergoes also molecular modifications that primarily reflect a therapy- or disease-induced inflammatory status of the OS. Over the last years, this field of research aimed a progressively growing interest since molecular variations may be considered as potential candidate biomarkers of glaucoma. The aim of this review is to report the main TF changes occurring during glaucoma, exploring the relationship they may have with the glaucoma-related ocular surface disease and the patient quality of life, and their utility as potential biomarkers of disease.


2013 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Schnetler ◽  
W. D. H. Gillan ◽  
G. Koorsen

The structure and function of meibomian gland lipids in the tear film are highly complex. Evidence shows that the precorneal tear film consists of discrete layers: the inner mucin layer, the middle aqueous layer and the outer lipid layer. In this review we focus on the outer, biphasic lipid layer of the tear film which consists of a ‘thick’ outer, non-polar layer  and a ‘thin’ inner, polar layer. We discuss the main composition of the polar and non-polar lipids within meibum (wax esters, cholesteryl esters, mono-, di- and tri-acylglycerols, ceramides, phospholipids  et cetera). We address the composition of meibomian lipids in subjects suffering from various ocular diseases in comparison with the composition in healthy individuals. Further analysis is needed to determine whether a correlation exists between the etiology of various ocular diseases and the fluctuation on the lipids as well as to establish whether or not tear lipid analysis can be used as a diagnostic tool.


2014 ◽  
Vol 746 ◽  
pp. 565-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bruna ◽  
C. J. W. Breward

AbstractIn this paper we examine the effect that physiological non-polar lipids, residing on the surface of an aqueous tear film, have on the film evolution. In our model we track the evolution of the thickness of the non-polar lipid layer, the thickness of the aqueous layer and the concentration of polar lipids which reside at the interface between the two. We also utilise a force balance in the non-polar lipid layer in order to determine its velocity. We show how to obtain previous models in the literature from our model by making particular choices of the parameters. We see the formation of boundary layers in some of these submodels, across which the concentration of polar lipid and the non-polar lipid velocity and film thickness vary. We solve our model numerically for physically realistic parameter values, and we find that the evolution of the aqueous layer and the polar lipid layer are similar to that described by previous authors. However, there are interesting dynamics for the non-polar lipid layer. The effects of altering the key parameters are highlighted and discussed. In particular, we see that the Marangoni number plays a key role in determining how far over the eye the non-polar lipid spreads.


2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-255
Author(s):  
Teodor-Cezar Codau ◽  
Elena Onofrei ◽  
Stojanka Petrusic ◽  
Gauthier Bedek ◽  
Daniel Dupont ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minho Seok ◽  
Sunghyun Yoon ◽  
Mookyum Kim ◽  
Young-Ho Cho

We present a porous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) pulsewave sensor with haircell structures that improves both water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).


Author(s):  
Réka Lilla Kovács ◽  
Lajos Daróczi ◽  
Péter Barkóczy ◽  
Eszter Baradács ◽  
Eszter Bakonyi ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this work, we evaluate the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), the permeability (P), solubility (S), and diffusion (D) coefficients of Paraloid B44, Paraloid B72, and Incralac coatings in the temperature range of 5–35°C. The Arrhenius function—diffusion activation energy and preexponential factor—has also been determined from the data: $$D_{B44} = 35.2\;{\text{cm}}^{2} \;{\text{s}}^{ - 1} \exp \left( { - 25\;{\text{kJ mol}}^{ - 1} /{\text{RT}}} \right)$$ D B 44 = 35.2 cm 2 s - 1 exp - 25 kJ mol - 1 / RT ; $$D_{B72} = 9.5\;{\text{cm}}^{2} \;{\text{s}}^{ - 1} \exp \left( { - 23\;{\text{kJ mol}}^{ - 1} /{\text{RT}}} \right)$$ D B 72 = 9.5 cm 2 s - 1 exp - 23 kJ mol - 1 / RT ; $$D_{\text{Incralac}} = 622.8\;{\text{cm}}^{2} \;{\text{s}}^{ - 1} { \exp }\left( { - 28\;{\text{kJ mol}}^{ - 1} /{\text{RT}}} \right)$$ D Incralac = 622.8 cm 2 s - 1 exp - 28 kJ mol - 1 / RT . These resins are important coating materials, for example, for conservators to protect metallic artifacts, such as statues, against corrosion. Despite Paraloid B44 and B72 resins being considered as reference materials in conservation practice, that is, new coating materials (either water vapor retarders or transmitters) are often compared to them, there are no comprehensive data for the quantities describing the vapor permeability (P, S, D) of these materials. The measurements are based on the ISO cup-method using substrate/coating composite samples. The strength of this technique is that it can also be used when the coating is non-self-supporting; nevertheless, P, S, and D can be deduced for the coating layer itself, and it seems to be a standardizable procedure for comparative performance testing of coating materials. Paraloid B72 layers exhibited higher WVTRs—from 39 to 315 g m−2 day−1 as the temperature increased from 5 to 35°C—compared to Paraloid B44 and Incralac coatings—from 17 to 190 g m−2 day−1, respectively. The transmission rate parameters were also compared to the results of corrosion tests. Incralac was the most effective corrosion inhibitor, and the performance of the B44 was better than the B72, which is in good agreement with the transmission rate tests.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document