Constructional Analysis using Laser-Raman Spectroscopy

Calcified Substances of the Tympanic Membrane

Abstract

In two cases of chronic otitis media (COM) (sin) of a 15 yrs old Japanese girl and tympanosclerosis (TS) (dex) of a 34 yrs old Japanese male, construction of tympanic membrane calcified substances, collected in tympanoplasty, was analyzed and compared at the molecular level, using laser-Raman spectroscopy. Results are shown below: 1) v₁ (PO₄^3-) of hydroxylapatite (HOAP) was sharp in TS and broard in COM. 2) The intensity of v₁ (PO₄^3-) was used as the internal standard. Theintensity of CO₃^2-, org. comp. and amide compared with the intensity of v₁ (PO₄^3-), respectively. These ratios showed lower values in TS than in COM. According to the results, it is suggested that the calcified substance in TS may have the nearer construction to HOAP. We proposed the following hypothesis concerning to the mechanism of calcified substance formation in both diseases. In the process of calcified substance formation in the TS, the nearer construction to HOAP may be formed from the beginning of disease and/or calcified substance may be transformed into the nearer substance to HOAP by changing over a period of several years.