Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 27, 2026

The Mammalian Ocular Lens in Focus: Development, Anatomy, Physiology, Transparency, Biomechanics, and Age-Related Challenges
Published on: May 29, 2026
Adhesion of soluble fibronectin, vitronectin, and collagen type IV to intraocular lens materials
Reijo J Linnola1, Malin Sund, Riikka Ylönen
1SLP, Finnish Medical Care Ltd., Vaasa, Finland. Reijo.Linnola@netikka.fi
Purpose:
To evaluate soluble fibronectin, vitronectin, and collagen type IV adhesion to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), fluorine-surface-modified PMMA, silicone, hydrophobic and hydrophilic acrylate, and hydrogel intraocular lenses (IOLs) and determine whether hydrophobic and hydrophilic acrylate materials have different fibronectin-adhesion properties.
Setting:
Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Methods:
One hundred fifty IOLs were incubated for 1 week at 37 degrees C with radioactive-iodine-labeled soluble fibronectin, vitronectin, or collagen type IV. Fifty IOLs were analyzed for each protein, 5 from each of 10 different IOL models (PMMA, Alcon MC60BM; fluorine-surface-modified PMMA, Chiron Fluorilens Centra-55F; silicone, Allergan Medical Optics SI-40NB and Pharmacia and Upjohn CeeOn 911A; hydrophobic soft acrylate, Alcon AcrySof MA60BM and SA30AL and AMO Sensar; hydrophilic soft acrylate, Ioltech Stabibag and Bausch and Lomb BL27; and hydrogel, Bausch and Lomb Hydroview. The amount of adherent protein was measured with a gamma counter at 1 and 7 days and expressed as counts per minute.
Results:
At 1 week, significantly more fibronectin was bound to the hydrophobic acrylate IOLs than to the 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) containing hydrophilic acrylate IOLs (P <.05 to.0001). Significantly more vitronectin was bound to the 2 silicone IOLs than to any other IOL (P <.01 to.0001) at 7 days. Collagen type IV adhered best to the hydrophilic acrylate IOLs, which were significantly different (P <.01 to.0001) than the other IOLs at 1 and 7 days.
Conclusions:
Each IOL material had a different affinity to each protein. Significant binding to 1 protein does not indicate that the IOL will bind significantly to all proteins; instead, each protein should be studied separately. Fibronectin bound significantly better to hydrophobic acrylate IOLs than to hydrophilic acrylate IOLs, suggesting that the HEMA-containing IOLs should be classified with the hydrogel IOL group.
Related Concept Videos
Fibronectins Connect Cells with ECM
Both proteoglycans and collagen are attached to fibronectin proteins, which, in turn, are attached to integrin proteins. These integrin proteins interact with transmembrane...
Type IV Collagen of Basal Lamina
A type IV collagen molecule has six alpha chains which can exist in...
Fibril-associated Collagen
For example, the type II collagen fibrils in cartilage have covalently bound type IX fibril-associated collagens at regular intervals. Other types of fibril-associated collagens are...
Adherens Junctions
Adherens Junctions are Dynamic
The endothelial cells...
Cell Adhesion Molecules - Types and Functions
CAM Families
The Integrin family of proteins is primarily involved in a...
Cell-matrix's Response to Mechanical Forces
Anchoring junctions mechanically attach a cell to the...

