| Summary: | Purpose: To investigate the applicability of strip meniscometry tube (SMT) in the measurement of tear lactoferrin in non-obese diabetic mice (NOD). Methods: SMT (SMTube, Echo Electricity Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) and fluorescein staining tests were performed on 7–14 week NOD- male mice (<i>n</i> = 4) and age and sex matched wild–type (Balbc, WT) mice (<i>n</i> = 5). Tears collected during SMT underwent lactoferrin concentration measurement by ELISA. Results: The mean SMT value was significantly lower in NOD mice compared to wild-type mice (<i>p</i> = 0.01). The mean corneal fluorescein staining score in the NOD mice was significantly lower compared with the wild-type mice (<i>p</i> = 0.03). The mean tear lactoferrin level also showed a significantly lower concentration in NOD mice (<i>p</i> = 0.02). Conclusions: SMT has been shown to be an effective tool in measuring tear volume in humans, cats, dogs, and mice. SMT may also serve as a useful tool for tear lactoferrin assessment in NOD and WT mice in experimental settings.
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