Efficacy of Curcumin as a Substitute for Fluorescent Eye Stains in Gelatin Models

Corneal abrasions, which are small abrasions that can occur on the surface of the cornea can happen to anyone, especially those who have high intensity and laborious jobs. The primary method to detect these abrasions is fluorescent eye stains. However, these stains can be inconvenient and expensive, so the purpose of this study was to determine if curcumin could be used as a viable substitute for fluorescein eye staining due to its low cost and easy accessibility. It was hypothesized that if curcumin was applied to an incision made in a gelatin model of the cornea, then the curcumin would stain the incised area without staining the unincised areas. This is based on the reasoning that the incised areas would catch the dye, similar to a fluorescent eye stain, whereas the smooth areas would repel it. Models of the cornea were created using clear, unflavored gelatin in hemispherical shapes. Various depths of incisions were made into these corneal models, and a prepared curcumin solution was poured on top of each incision. The amount of leftover curcumin solution was then measured. Both a one-way ANOVA and Tukey test were run. The tests only showed significance between the 7 mm and 10 mm groups. The hypothesis was partially supported, because the 5 mm and 10 mm incision groups had less leftover solution than the Control, however the 7 mm had more. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that curcumin is a viable alternative for fluorescein eye staining.