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Polyethylene Glycol Diacrylate Adapted Photopolymerization Material for Contact Lens with Improved Elastic Modulus
Yamin Chen1, Dianyang Li1, Yougen Chen2
1Nanophotonics Research Center, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Micro-Scale Optical Information Technology, Institute of Microscale Optoelectronics, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 26, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed new silicone hydrogel contact lenses (CLs) by optimizing polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) ratios. This formulation enhances optical clarity, flexibility, and wearer comfort for advanced CL applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Ophthalmic Materials
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Silicone hydrogel contact lenses (CLs) are widely used for vision correction.
- Optimizing material composition is crucial for enhancing CL performance, including optical clarity, flexibility, and wearer comfort.
- Balancing hydrophilicity and mechanical properties remains a key challenge in CL material development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prepare and characterize novel silicone hydrogel transparent contact lenses (CLs) with varied formulations.
- To investigate the effect of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) content on CL properties.
- To evaluate the imaging performance and potential for improved wearer comfort of the developed CL materials.
Main Methods:
- Free radical photocuring polymerization was employed to synthesize four distinct silicone hydrogel formulations.
- Material characterization included electronic universal testing, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR).
- Optical performance and imaging capabilities were simulated using Ansys Zemax OpticStudio2024 software.
Main Results:
- Increased PEGDA content improved curing efficiency, equilibrium water content (EWC), and light transmission, while reducing elastic modulus.
- Formulations combining PEGDA and EGDMA exhibited superior optical transparency compared to those with high PEGDA alone.
- Optimized weight percentages of components achieved a balance of optical performance, flexibility, and transparency.
Conclusions:
- The study successfully developed silicone hydrogel CL materials with enhanced transparency and flexibility.
- Optimizing the ratio of PEGDA and EGDMA is critical for achieving desired optical and mechanical properties in CLs.
- These findings offer a new material selection basis for improving the performance and wearing comfort of contact lenses.
