In our previous study,1 donor-recipient reaction after corneal heterograft appeared to be extremely mild in the lyophilized graft. This evidence suggested the reduction of antigenicity of the lyophilized graft. Mild denaturation of corneal proteins during lyophilization and subsequent preservation had been presumed. The original purpose of lyophilization in corneal grafting was the preservation of the graft for a long period. In addition to this, we found that lyophilization was an effective method for reduction of the donor-recipient reaction especially in corneal heterograft. The present study was carried out to determine the reduction of antigenicity and the degree of denaturation of corneal proteins during the lyophilization and the preservation by means of precipita tion test, polarography, and paper electrophoresis.
Precipitation Test
Materials and Methods.
—Grafts were resected from fresh ox eyes (8 mm. in diameter, 0.5 mm. in thickness) and immersed in 15% glycerine isotonic saline mixture for one hour.