Comparative 1 H NMR studies of saturation transfer in copolymer gels and mouse lenses

Saturation transfer in cross‐linked copolymer gels and excised intact and perforating trauma‐induced cataract mouse lenses (4‐ or 8‐week‐old) were studied using intermolecular cross‐relaxation rates (1/ T IS (H 2 O); 1/ T IS ), monitored with f 2 ‐irradiation at −8.79, −4.00, and 7.13 ppm (γH 2 /2 π  ∼ 69 Hz). [1] The 1/ T IS (7.13 ppm) vs dry weight [W (%)] profiles for hydrophilic copolymer gels were far steeper than those for hydrophobic copolymer gels, indicating the participation of an amount of bound water and a number of copolymer hydroxyl groups in the saturation transfer process. In contrast, the 1/ T IS (−8.79 ppm) vs W (%) profiles exhibited little difference between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic copolymer gels, indicating the major participation of molecular rigidity, i.e. W (%) in the saturation transfer process. [2] The 1/ T IS (7.13 ppm) values for cataractous mouse lenses were larger than those for intact lenses, indicating the formation of large, immobile lens protein associates or aggregates containing a sufficient amount of bound water for the saturation transfer. [3] The 1/ T IS (7.13 ppm) vs W (%) profiles for the hydrophilic copolymer gels exhibited similar characteristics to the intact and cataractous mouse lenses with regard to the saturation transfer process. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.