Evaluation of clarity characteristics in a new hydrophobic acrylic IOL in comparison to commercially available IOLs.

PURPOSE: To perform in vitro assessments of surface haze and roughness, subsurface nanoglistenings (SSNGs), and glistenings of a new hydrophobic acrylic intraocular lens (IOL) in comparison to commercially available IOLs. SETTING: Universities of Utah and Alcalá, and Alcon Vision, LLC. DESIGN: Experimental study. METHODS: The IOLs used were Clareon CNA0T0, Tecnis ZCB00 and Tecnis OptiBlue ZCB00V, Eternity W-60, enVista MX60, and Vivinex XY1. Surface haze was assessed by the pixel intensity units (PIU) from cross-sectional slitlamp images, and it was correlated to atomic force microscopy roughness. For SSNGs, the IOLs were artificially aged up to 10 years, followed by Scheimpflug densitometry (computer-compatible tape unit [CCTU]) measurements. For glistenings, the IOLs were immersed in a water bath and subjected to temperature changes before analysis. RESULTS: The surface haze (n = 10, PIU) was 4.25 ± 0.87 (SD) (CNA0T0), 9.50 ± 1.66 (ZCB00), 39.48 ± 1.97 (ZCB00V), 46.68 ± 3.16 (W-60), 44.70 ± 4.00 (MX60), and 4.42 ± 0.71 (XY1) (P < .001), which showed a strong correlation with surface roughness measurements (R = 0.94, P = .006). The densitometry (n = 10, CCTU at 10 years) was 7.30 ± 1.36 (CNA0T0), 11.88 ± 3.10 (ZCB00), 38.12 ± 2.24 (ZCB00V), 48.13 ± 9.44 (W-60), 20.20 ± 3.84 (MX60), and 6.75 ± 6.66 (XY1) (P < .001), with no significant differences between CNA0T0 vs. ZCB00 and XY1. The glistenings density (n = 30) was the lowest for the CNA0T0, W-60, and MX60 IOLs. CONCLUSIONS: The new Clareon CNA0T0, which is manufactured from a hydrophobic acrylic material, exhibited among the lowest levels of surface haze and roughness, SSNGs, and glistenings compared with other commercially available hydrophobic acrylic IOLs.