Characterization of Biocompatible Hydrogel Lenses Using Methacrylic Acid with Neodymium Oxide Nanoparticles.

Min-Jae Lee,Seon-Young Park,A-Young Sung

doi:10.3390/polym13101575

Min-Jae Lee, Seon-Young Park + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13101575

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Journal: Polymers	Publication Date: May 14, 2021
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Jeju Tourism University, Catholic University of Daegu

Abstract

We prepared hydrogel contact lenses containing nanoparticles of neodymium oxide and methacrylic acid (MA) to investigate their effect on the physical and chemical properties of the lens. Neodymium oxide nanoparticles improved the tensile strength without affecting wettability. The tensile strength, wettability, and light transmittance were all increased when MA was added in a specific ratio. To confirm the safety of the newly used nanoparticles, test on absorbance, eluate, and pH change were conducted and it was found that the safety level was satisfactory. In conclusion, it was confirmed that durable contact lenses can be manufactured with neodymium oxide nanoparticles, and most of the basic elements of the lens such as transparency, strength, and wettability could be improved using MA, which is a hydrophilic material. It is believed that the study will be helpful as part of basic research to use new materials.

Highlights

Polymers 2021, 13, 1575. https://Various types of hydrogel lens products such as disposable contact lenses, disposable astigmatism lenses, silicone hydrogel lenses, multifocal contact lenses, and reverse geometry lenses are available in the market today
Hydrogel lenses with low water content are easier to handle than those with high water content, their oxygen transmissibility is relatively low, causing corneal edema that affects the scattering of light and the refractive power of the cornea and gives it a tendency to form poorer-quality images [5,6]
Neodymium oxide nanoparticles added to the properties hydrogelwere lens to evaluate the to the ratio of methacrylic acid (MA)

Summary

Introduction

Polymers 2021, 13, 1575. https://Various types of hydrogel lens products such as disposable contact lenses, disposable astigmatism lenses, silicone hydrogel lenses, multifocal contact lenses, and reverse geometry lenses are available in the market today. When using disposable hydrogel lenses, uncomfortable feeling such as pain, sensation of a foreign body, dryness, glare, and redness should be minimized [4] To this end, when selecting disposable hydrogel lenses, the type of lens and its oxygen permeability, contact angle, wettability, friction coefficient, manufacturing method, and corrective refractive power should be considered. Hydrogel lenses with low water content are easier to handle than those with high water content, their oxygen transmissibility is relatively low, causing corneal edema that affects the scattering of light and the refractive power of the cornea and gives it a tendency to form poorer-quality images [5,6] To address this problem, a hydrogel lens made of silicone mixed with an existing hydrogel material has been developed and is being distributed, but this new lens presents a possibility that the wettability of the lens will deteriorate due to the hydrophobicity of silicone [7].

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