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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/R33809/01
Title: Optical Transmission in Fibrous Biomaterials
Principal Investigator: Quantock, Professor AJ
Other Investigators:
Hodson, Professor S Meek, Professor KM
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Optometry and Vision Sciences
Organisation: Cardiff University
Scheme: Fast Stream
Starts: 01 August 2001 Ends: 31 July 2002 Value (£): 45,612
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Biomaterials Development (Biosciences)
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Healthcare
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The passage of light through a fibrous biomaterial such as the cornea of the eye (a material comprised of an array of identical, weak light scattering elements) is contingent on the spatial distribution of the scattering elements. This is because the interference of light waves scattered by each independent element determines how much light is eventually transmitted through the material. In cornea the main light scattering elements (collagen fibrils) are arranged in a very regular fashion, and it has been suggested that a parameter called the fibril volume fraction (i.e. the fraction of the tissue occupied by collagen fibrils) needs to be within certain limits if a cornea is to be transparent. We intend to find out whether this is the case, and discover what the limits are. We will do this by measuring the amount of light that passes through a series of corneas with different levels of transparency. This will be done with a spectrophotometer. We will then use x-ray diffraction to work out the fibril volume fraction for a range of matched corneas. The results will indicate whether the fibril volume fraction affects the ability of the cornea to transmit light.
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Organisation Website: http://www.cf.ac.uk