Optical clearing of the eye sclera in vivo caused by glucose

Changes in the optical properties of the eye sclera of a laboratory animal (rabbit) caused by the noninvasive administration of an immersion agent (aqueous glucose solution) into sclera are studied experimentally in vivo by the method of reflection spectroscopy and simulated numerically. The diffusion coefficients of glucose and water in sclera are estimated from simulations of optical clearing within the framework of the developed model as h(5.4 ± 0.1) × 10^-7 and (5.8 ± 0.2) × 10^-7 cm² s^-1, respectively. Experiments showed that the application of the glucose solution on the sclera allows the efficient control of its optical properties, which makes it possible to deliver the laser energy to internal eye tissues without considerable attenuation and distortions of its spatial distribution in laser diagnostics and therapy.