Poroelastic Bulk Properties of the Tectorial Membrane Measured with Osmotic Stress

¹ M.I.T.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: freeman{at}mit.edu.

Submitted on November 19, 2005
Revised on December 9, 2005
Accepted on 5 June 2006

	Abstract

The equilibrium stress-strain relation and the pore radius of the isolated tectorial membrane (TM) of the mouse were determined. Polyethylene glycol (PEG), with molecular weight (MW) in the range 20-511 kDa, added to the TM bathing solution was used to exert an osmotic pressure. Strain on the TM induced by isosmotic PEG solutions of different MW was about the same for MW 200 kDa. However, for MW 100 kDa, the TM strain was appreciably smaller. We infer that for the smaller MW, PEG entered the TM and exerted a smaller effective osmotic pressure. The pore radius of the TM was estimated as 22 nm. The equilibrium stress-strain relation of the TM was measured using PEG with MW of 511 kDa. This relation was nonlinear and was fit with a power function. In the radial cochlear direction, the transverse stiffness of the TM was 20% stiffer in the inner than in the outer region. TM segments from the basal region had a larger transverse stiffness on average compared to sections from the apical-middle region. These measurements provide a quantitative basis for a poroelastic model of the TM.

Key Words: cochlea, hearing, mouse, polyethylene glycol (PEG), polymethacrylic acid (PMAA) gel

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