Effects of Aqueous-Supplementing Artificial Tears in Wearers of Biweekly Replacement Contact Lenses vs Wearers of Daily Disposable Contact Lenses.

PURPOSE: To compare the effects of artificial tears (ATs) in wearers of biweekly replacement silicone hydrogel contact lenses (BW-Ws) and wearers of daily disposable contact lenses (DD-Ws) of the same material. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The aqueous-supplementing ATs, OPTOyalA and OPTOidro, were assigned to be used for 2 weeks to healthy and young subjects: 1) 20 (8 and 12, respectively) BW-Ws wearing silicone hydrogel somofilcon A CLs (Clariti Elite), 2) 18 (9 and 9, respectively) DD-Ws wearing silicone hydrogel somofilcon A CLs (Clarity 1 Day), and 3) a control group of 33 (16 and 17, respectively) N-Ws. Ocular symptoms and comfort, tear volume and stability, and ocular surface condition were assessed by Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), 5-Item Dry Eye Questionnaire (DEQ5), tear meniscus height (TMH), non-invasive tear break-up time (NIBUT), and evaluation of ocular redness (OR). The assessment was performed before and after 15 days of use of the ATs in the 3 groups (BW-Ws, DD-Ws, and N-Ws). RESULTS: No clear significant difference was noted in symptoms and signs between OPTOyalA and OPTOidro irrespectively of the group of people studied. ATs use for 15 days produced a significant improvement in DEQ5 and OR in DD-Ws (Δ=-34%, p=0.006; Δ=-23%, p<0.001) and in N-Ws (Δ=-21%, p=0.001; Δ=-10%, p=0.006) but not in BW-Ws (Δ=-5%, p=0.072; Δ=-2%, p=0.257). No significant change was noted for TMH. CONCLUSION: In young and healthy subjects, the aqueous-supplementing effect of the ATs under consideration is more a rinsing and tear replacem ent effect than an increase in tear volume, and it produces an improvement of the eye redness and ocular symptoms. Contact lens wear influenced the effectiveness of ATs in a way which is correlated with the CL replacement schedule.

Mechanically triggered solute uptake in soft contact lenses.

Molecular arrangement plays a role in the diffusion of water and solutes across soft contact lenses. In particular, the uptake of solutes in hydrated contact lenses can occur as long as free water is available for diffusion. In this work, we investigated the effect of mechanical vibrations of low frequency (200 Hz) on the solute uptake. Hyaluronan, a polysaccharide of ophthalmic use, was taken as example of solute of interest. For a specific water-hydrated hydrogel material, differential scanning calorimetry experiments showed that a large fraction of the hydration water accounted for loosely-bound water, both before and after one week of daily-wear of the lenses. The size (of the order of magnitude of few hundreds of nanometers) of hyaluronan in aqueous solution was found to be less than the size of the pores of the lens observed by scanning electron microscopy. However, solute uptake in already-hydrated lenses was negligible by simple immersion, while a significant increase occurred under mechanical vibrations of 200 Hz, thus providing experimental evidence of mechanically triggered enhanced solute uptake, which is attributed to the release of interfacial loosely-bound water. Also other materials were taken into consideration. However, the effectiveness of mechanical vibrations for hyaluronan uptake is restricted to lenses containing interfacial loosely-bound water. Indeed, loosely-bound water is expected to be bound to the polymer with bonding energies of the order of magnitude of 10-100 J/g, which are compatible with the energy input supplied by the vibrations.

Wear effects on microscopic morphology and hyaluronan uptake in siloxane-hydrogel contact lenses.

The purpose of this study was a comparison between new and worn siloxane-hydrogel contact lenses in terms of microscopic structure, surface morphology, and loading of hyaluronan. The analyses were performed by scanning electron microscopy, with the support of the freeze-drying technique, and by fluorescence confocal microscopy. Along the depth profile of new lenses, a thin porous top layer was observed, which corresponds to the region of hyaluronan penetration inside well-defined channels. The time evolution was followed from one day to two weeks of daily wear, when a completely different scenario was found. Clear experimental evidence of a buggy surface was observed with several crests and regions of swelling, which could be filled by the hyaluronan solution. The modifications are attributed to the progressive relaxation of the structure of the polymeric network.

Surface properties and wear performances of siloxane-hydrogel contact lenses.

The low surface roughness of disposable contact lenses made of a new siloxane-hydrogel loaded with hyaluronic acid is reported, as studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Before the wear, the surface is characterized by out-of-plane and sharp structures, with maximum height of about 10 nm. After a wear of 8 h, evidence of two typical morphologies is provided and discussed. One morphology (sharp type) has a similar aspect as the unworn lenses with a slight increase in both the height and the number of the sharp peaks. The other morphology (smooth type) is characterized by troughs and bumpy structures. Wettability and clinical performances are also discussed, the latter deduced by the ocular-surface-disease index (OSDI). The main finding arising from this work is the indication of correlation between the change of the OSDI before and after wear and the lens surface characteristics obtained by AFM.

Hyaluronic acid in hydrophilic contact lenses: spectroscopic investigation of the content and release in solution.

Two experimental spectroscopic methods for the determination of the content of hyaluronic acid in solution are provided based on the formation of complexes between the hyaluronic acid and cationic dyes with sensitivity down to concentrations of either 0.25 or 2.5 microg/ml. These techniques were applied to commercial hydrophilic contact lenses and allowed (i) distinguishing among contact lenses either loaded or non-loaded with hyaluronic acid, (ii) determining, for the loaded ones, the content of hyaluronic acid, (iii) evaluating the release of hyaluronic acid by the lens in solution, and (iv) determining the role of the hyaluronic acid in preventing the adsorption and the successive release by the contact lens of other components which can be present, for example, in the conservation solutions and/or in the blisters of the lenses. The results represent new physical chemistry insights for the field of contact lenses with impact on the advancement of current technology.