Water transport in dehydrating hydrogel contact lenses: implications for corneal desiccation

This article provides direct evidence that the rate of evaporation from the anterior surface of a hydrogen contact lens is related to the bulk water transport within the contact lens, analogous to diffusion-controlled evaporation. The evaporative flux of water from the anterior surface of a contact lens, with free access to water at its posterior surface, was greater for contact lenses of greater overall water content. Blockage of the water entry to the posterior surface of the contact lens reduced the evaporative loss from the anterior surface by 44%. These results suggested that a decrease in the rate of lens bulk water transport during wear would lead to a reduced evaporation rate from the anterior lens surface, for example, if the contact lens water content was reduced due to lipid and mucus adsorption. In addition, a rise in the external temperature of 1.3 degrees was required to produce a significant increase (2 SD) in the evaporative flux from the contact lenses. This suggests that the steady-state water content in vivo may not be significantly influenced by temperature cycling during blinking.