Light scattering in the eye lens near the spinodal.

Scattered light intensities measurements of the nuclear part of adult bovine lenses are reported. In the investigated samples the existence of a binary liquid phase separation from a metastable state is demonstrated by the phenomenon of hysteresis. Fluctuations near spinodal are studied by means of a tentative theoretical approach. Accordingly the scattered light intensities were analyzed reduced by the intensity obtained for the stable state of the system. Fluctuations in the stable state are ascribed to protein aggregates and are analyzed by means of random density fluctuation theory. To evaluate the correlation length of the fluctuations near spinodal the Ornstein-Zernike theory is adopted. Temperature dependence of the correlation length xi of the fluctuations near spinodal can be described by equation for critical fluctuations [formula: see text]. For the investigated lenses the exponent nu varies from 0.65 to 0.74 and the parameter xi 0 varies from 1.6 nm to 3.6 nm. The spinodal temperature Ts for the investigated samples is evaluated.