Extraction of retinol and cholesterol by intraocular silicone oils.

According to their solubility parameters, retinol and its derivatives, as well as cholesterol and other lipophilic substances, are predicted to dissolve in intraocular silicone and fluorosilicone oils. Calf retinas were extracted in vitro with these oils and the oils then analyzed spectrophotometrically. The following levels were found after extraction for 4 and 48 hours, respectively: for retinol, silicone oil, 0.5 and 3.7 micrograms/ml, and fluorosilicone oil, 0.5 and 3.3 micrograms/ml; for cholesterol, silicone oil, 0.5 and 6.4 micrograms/ml, and fluorosilicone oil, 0.8 and 3.7 micrograms/ml. In in vivo experiments, intraocular oils were removed from rabbit eyes at 4 days to 10 weeks after injection. The retinol levels were 1.7 to 11.4 micrograms/ml in silicone oil and 2.4 to 7.3 micrograms/ml in fluorosilicone oil; the cholesterol levels were 2.7 to 12.6 micrograms/ml in silicone oil and 7.5 to 15.6 micrograms/ml in fluorosilicone oil. Fluorosilicone and silicone oils (1000 cs) removed from human eyes at 7.3 and 102.0 weeks postoperatively had a retinol content of 5.4 and 2.9 micrograms/ml, respectively. Silicone oil of 1000 cs removed from a patient 51 weeks postoperatively and silicone oil of 12,500 cs removed 96 weeks postoperatively gave reaction characteristics for cholesterol, 230 and 99 micrograms/ml, respectively.