Effects of ultrasonication of the rabbit lens in situ as evaluated by analysis of crystallin composition.

Ultrasonication and aspiration is a recently developed method of lens extraction. We have attempted todetermine whether extraction by this procedure is total or partial and, if so, whether certain regions or components are preferentially removed, and also whether the contents of the lens are physico-chemically modified by the process of extraction. The water-soluble and urea-soluble protein fractions from the ultrasonicated lenses and the contra-lateral intact lenses of six rabbits were analysed by isoelectric focusing. Differences are found in the crystallin content which indicate that extraction is frequently non-representative and that beta- and gamma- crystallins are modified by the process.