Proteins identified from care solution extractions of silicone hydrogels

The purpose of this study was to investigate the quantity and identify the proteins extracted from two different types of silicone hydrogel contact lenses by several multipurpose care solutions after 1 day of wear.

Ten subjects were recruited to wear galyfilcon A lenses (Acuvue Advance, Vistakon) followed by lotrafilcon B lenses (O2 Optix, CIBA Vision) each for four consecutive days. Each day, subjects inserted a new pair of lenses for 8 h of wear after which both lenses were removed using forceps (lenses were not rubbed or rinsed after removal). Lenses were pooled in one of four commercially available care solutions for a 24-h soak followed by precipitation, resuspension in water, and quantification by Bradford assay and identification by mass spectrometry.

Protein recovery from care solutions was as follows (quantities are in microg/lens): AQuify (galyfilcon A: 0.56, lotrafilcon B: 1.24), Complete MoisturePlus (galyfilcon A: 1.44, lotrafilcon B: 1.47), Opti-Free Express (galyfilcon A: 2.31, lotrafilcon B: 5.67), and ReNu MoistureLoc (galyfilcon A: 1.17, lotrafilcon B: 4.38). For each care solution, greater quantities of protein were removed from lotrafilcon B (3.19 +/- 2.19 microg/lens) than from galyfilcon A (1.37 +/- 0.72 microg/lens). Lactoferrin, lysozyme, and lipocalin were the most commonly identified, whereas various keratin compounds and other unique proteins were also detected.

Opti-Free Express was consistently associated with the more efficient removal of proteins from these silicone hydrogels. More total protein was removed from lotrafilcon B than from galyfilcon A (approximately 2 x more protein) for all four care solutions, and 12 total unique protein species were recovered from galyfilcon A, whereas only 10 were recovered from lotrafilcon B. The higher quantities of protein extracted from lotrafilcon B may be due to stronger protein binding with this material and/or to differences in solution efficacy.