A new test for endothelial viability. The Janus green photometry technique
C. Hartmann and P. Rieck
Gologne University Eye Clinic, West Germany.
A new in vitro technique was developed to measure, by simple photometry,
the amount of Janus green extracted with absolute alcohol from isolated
corneas after vital staining. The amount of stain corresponded to the
percentage of damaged endothelial cells and was a reliable parameter of
endothelial viability. More rapid and easier to perform than the usual cell
counting of devitalized cells, this technique can be used to study the
endothelial damage induced, for example, by experimental surgery,
intraocular solutions, intraocular lens material, corneas storage
solutions. As an example of application, results of the endothelial status
after medium-term preservation of pig corneas (n = 40) in a modified
McCarey-Kaufman medium at 4 degrees C were determined. The mean +/-
endothelial damage was 8.5% +/- 1.8% (mean +/- SD) after 4 days, 29.5% +/-
3.7% after 7 days, 45.5% +/- 5.5% after 10 days, 69.3% +/- 3.7% after 14
days, and 100% after 20 days of storage in McCarey-Kaufman medium.
