The Inflation Response of Mouse Sclera: Age Effects on the Mechanical Properties of Scleral Tissue

摘要

This study investigated the scleral inflation response of young and old C57BL/6 mice. Age has a stiffening effect on the scleral tissue with evidence of increased material moduli at the small and large strain regime for the tissue of the older animals. Both tissue types also creeped under a constant pressure with the younger tissue having a pressure-dependent response. Current inflation tests are being done on young and old DBA/2J mice, a strain that spontaneously develops glaucoma, and an induced bead glaucoma model [7]. In addition, specimen specific finite element modeling is being used to more accurately calculate the complex stress state of the posterior region of the sclera. With the material testing and modeling effort outlined here, our goal is to assess the role of scleral tissue properties in the development of glaucomatous damage in hopes of finding a pharmaceutical target to arrest RGC death.