Gentle Touch, a lens material resistant to protein deposition

We investigated the ability of the Gentle Touch, a non-ionic contact lens material containing 35% netrafilcon A and 65% water, to repel protein deposits. Studies were conducted in vivo (lenses worn by patients) and in vitro (lenses coated by artificial tears). Acuvue soft contact lenses, an ionic lens material containing 42% etafilcon A and 58% water, were used as controls. After 1 to 2 weeks of wear, protein deposits on Gentle Touch lenses averaged 1.5-2.8 micrograms per lens versus 338-444 micrograms per lens for Acuvue. Gentle Touch lenses that were heat-coated with an FDA tear solution recommended for testing protein deposition averaged 6.5 micrograms of protein deposits per lens, whereas almost 100 micrograms of protein was deposited on each Acuvue lens. Lenses treated with an artificial tear solution deposited a non-detectable amount of protein on each Gentle Touch lens versus more than 358 micrograms on each Acuvue lens. These studies demonstrated that Gentle Touch lenses are highly resistant to protein deposits.