Chemical Product Design

# Case study: contact lenses

Mattia Sponchioni, Filippo Rossi

Introduction

A contact lens is a thin lens

placed directly on the surface
of the eye
It can be used to correct
vision, for cosmetic or even
therapeutic reasons

Good peripheral vision

+
avoid to collect rain, snow, condensation or sweat
=
Contact lenses are ideal for sports and
outdoor activities
 Market
In 2004, 125 million people (2%) used contact lenses worldwide
The global contact lens market was valued at $7.2 billion in 2010. It reached $7.8
billion in 2011 and will grow to $11.6 billion in 2016 at a CAGR (Compounded
Average Growth Rate) of 8.4% from 2011 to 2016
The corrective contact lens segment was $3.2 billion in 2010 and $3.5 billion in 2011
and will reach $5.1 billion in 2016 (CAGR 8.1%)
The therapeutic lens segment is expected to show a slightly higher CAGR of 8.4% due
to an increase in research and technology in this sector
 History

1508: Leonardo da Vinci introduced the idea of

contact lens studying a method to alter corneal
power wearing a water-filled glass hemisphere
over the eye
1636: Ren Descardes proposed the use of a glass
tube filled with liquid and placed in direct contact
with the cornea
1801: Thomas Young made a basic pair of contact water-filled lenses using
wax to affix them to his eyes

1888: Adolf Fick constructed and fitted himself the first

successful contact lens. These lenses were made from
heavy blown glasses and were 18-21 mm in diameter
 History
1936: the development of PMMA allowed William Feinbloom to introduce
the first plastic (in combination with glass) lenses which were lighter and
more comfortable
The most important disadvantage of PMMA lenses is that no oxygen is
transmitted to the cornea. So from the 1970s to the 1990s a range of
oxygen-permeable but rigid polymeric materials were developed to
overcome this problem. These polymers are referred to as Rigid Gas
Permeable (RGP)

In 1960s also appeared he first soft lenses, made of

hydrogel and approved by the Food and Drug
administration in 1971. These lenses soon overcame
the rigid lenses due to their immediate comfort
1998: the first silicon hydrogel lenses were launched.
These new materials combine the high oxygen
permeability of silicone and the comfort of hydrogels
 Types of contact lenses

Rigid lenses
Materials Soft lenses
Hybrid

Functions Wear Schedule

Corrective lenses Daily wear
Cosmetic lenses Classification Extended wear
Therapeutic Continuous wear
lenses

Single use
Replacement
Schedule Two-week lenses
Quarterly lenses
 Functions

Corrective contact lenses

Designed to improve vision by correcting refractive

error

1. Spherical contact 2. Toric contact lens = 3. Multifocal & Monovision =

lens = correct myopia correct astigmatism correct presbyopia
and hyperopia multifocal have 2 focal points:
its shape creates different
bends light in every focusing powers on the the center allows the distance
direction vertical and horizontal vision, a shift in the position
orientations. The refractive enable the reading power
its spherical shape strength modifies as you
makes her refractive monovision has one focal point
move around the lens. per lens to focus one eye for
power independent from
orientation distance and the other for near
 Functions

Cosmetic contact lenses

Designed to change the appearance of the eye

FDA classifies them as They can have more direct

decorative lens and as medical applications: some
medical devices since, as lenses can restore the
with any contact lens, carry appearance and to some
risks of complications extent the function of a
damaged or missing iris
 Functions

Therapeutic contact lenses

Used in the treatment of non-refractive disorders of

the eye

Bandage contact lens For corneal pain relief in For post surgical
to protect an injured conditions such as bullous treatments
or diseased cornea keratopathy, epithelial
erosion and abrasion,
filamentary keratitis, post-
keratoplasty

Contact lens that deliver drugs to the eye have also been
developed
 Wear schedule

Daily wear contact lenses are to be worn for one day and removed
prior to sleeping

Extended wear contact lens is designed for continuous overnight wear,

typically for up to 6 consecutive nights

Continuous wear contact lens can be worn for up to 30 consecutive

nights thanks to new materials like silicone based hydrogel

Extended and continuous wear lenses owe their comfort to the high oxygen permeability:
- while awake the eyes are open, allowing to the oxygen of the air to dissolve into tears and
pass through the lens to the cornea.
- while asleep oxygen is supplied from the blood vessels in the back of the eyelid.
 Replacement schedule

Single use lenses are discarded after one single use. They are made thinner
and lighter, since dont have to stand up to the wear and tear of repeated
uses. This improves comfort and assure fewer deposits of allergens, making
them preferable for patients with ocular allergies

Two or four-week lenses

Quarterly or annual lenses

Lenses with different replacement schedule can be made of the same materials. The
differences lay in the manufacturing processes.
In U.S.A., contact lens manufacturers must prove to the Food & Drug Administration
that a lens is safe before it can be sold to the public.
 Materials

Rigid contact lenses

Glass lenses have never been comfortable

and so didnt find a large diffusion
Polymethyl methacrylate lenses (known as
hard lenses) caused a revolution in this
sector. A great disadvantage of this material
is that it doesnt allow oxygen to pass
through the cornea
To overcome this problem new materials
were developed, leading to the Rigid Gas
Permeable lenses (RGP)
Materials
RGP lenses incorporate
They are able to replace silicone and fluorine
the natural shape of the which makes them more
cornea with a new flexible than pure PMMA
refracting surface and allows oxygen to
reach the cornea

Rigid Gas Permeable lenses

In 2012, RGP contact They are more chemically

lenses accounted for 9% inert, allowing them to be
of all new contact lens worn in more challenging
fits in the United States. conditions than soft lenses.
RGPs are a high-tech, Furthermore they dont
growing alternative to contain water, so protein and
soft contact lenses. lipids do not adhere to them
 Hydrogels
polymeric hydrophilic network (synthetic or natural)

absorbent and able to retain until 98% of water (swelling behavior)

water
retained

polymeric network interconnections (H bonds or Van der Waals

chains interactions)
characterized by high flexibility
 Hydrogels: swelling behavior
hydrogel main characteristic that evaluate their ability to retain water (in
general a liquid);
swell balance = balance between thermodynamic swelling force and
attractive force of the cross-linked network;
indicative parameter: volumetric swelling ratio Q = Vwet / Vdry
controlled by temperature, osmosis and pH.

diffusion coefficient;
superficial properties and
mobility;
optical and mechanical
dry properties.
hydrogel

wet hydrogel
 Materials

Hydrogel lenses, the material Availability of silicone hydrogel

gives them flexibility and gave soft lenses extreme
comfort after a very short oxygen permeability, comfort
period of adaptation and clinical performance

Soft lenses

1. Plasma coating alters the

hydrophobic nature of the
surface
Disadvantage of silicone hydrogels are
that they are slightly stiffer and the lens 2. Internal rewetting agents
surface can be hydrophobic and so less make the surface hydrophilic
wettable. New manufacturing techniques
3. Longer backbone polymers
have minimized these effects in three
results in less cross linking
ways:
and increased wetting
 Materials

Performances of Soft Lenses are affected by the polymer used in

the hydrogel.
2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) is the first that has been used and is also the
most diffuse

Other polymers used are VP: vinyl pyrrolidone; MAA: methacrylic acid
Materials

RGP vs. Soft Lenses

RGP Soft lenses

Silicone and fluorine in a plastic Silicone in hydrogel makes them
matrix makes them rigid flexible
Requires a longer period of Comfortable shortly after
adaptation before comfort is insertion
achieved
Generally smaller, they dont even Come to cover also a part of
completely cover the iris cornea
Extremely durable, they can last for Less resistance, they can be easily
years teared off
Custom-made to exact Mass-Produced
specifications
Materials

Hybrid lenses
They consist of a rigid center and a soft skirt
They are thought to combine the best effects of both RGP and soft lenses, in
particular:

1. The vision correction benefits of a rigid lens

2. The comfort of a soft lens
 Manufacturing processes
Contact lenses, whether soft or rigid, can be industrially produced through three main
processes:

Molding
Turning Centrifugation
 Manufacturing processes

Diamond turning: a diamond-turned lens is cut and polished on a CNC

lathe. The lens starts out as a cylindrical disk (called buttons) held in the jaws of the
lathe. This is equipped with an industrial-grade diamond as the cutting tool. The CNC
lathe may turn at nearly 6000 rpm as the cutters remove the desired amount of material
from the inside lens.

The concave (inner) surface is polished The convex (outer) surface is cut in the
with abrasive paste, oil and a small desired form and polished with the
polyester cotton ball turned at high same process
speed
 Manufacturing processes
This process is used to shape both rigid and soft lenses. In this case the lens is cut
from a dehydrated polymer that is rigid until water is reintroduced.
 Manufacturing processes
Centrifugation:
The components of the polymer mixture are injected into a rotating mold.

The material subjected to centrifugal force spreads on the spherical mold

walls and in this way determines the curvature of the anterior surface of the
lens.

On the other side the speed of rotation determines the radius of curvature of
the rear. After centrifugation, the lens is subjected to polymerization and then
to hydration. This system allows to obtain lenses at low thickness.
 Manufacturing processes

Molding: the liquid monomer is injected into the concave part of the mold, on
which is then laid down the convex part. After the polymerization step, in some
production lines the lenses are subjected to hydration step while in others, the final
product of the molding is already hydrated. The molds are usually in plastic material and
has specific parameters.
 Current research

A large segment of research is directed towards the treatment and prevention of

conditions resulting from contact lens contamination and colonization by foreign agents

Microbial keratesis is How microbes invade Corneal hypoxia exacerbates

a focal point due to its the eye and cause Pseudomonas binding to the
serious effects on the infection? corneal epithelium and
eye induction of inflammatory
response
 Current research

Compliance is a major issue because patient negligence often leads to contamination of

lenses and storage case. The introduction of multipurpose solutions and daily cleaner
have helped but new methods are currently being developed.

Silver-impregnated lens Contact lenses with Octylglucoside used as a

case helps to eradicate any covalently attached selenium contact lens surfactant
contaminating agent molecules reduce bacterial decreases bacterial adhesion
colonization without
adversely affecting the
cornea
 Current research

More futuristic ways of development leads to the so called BIONIC LENSES

They are visual displays with built-in electric circuits

and light-emitting diodes (LED) that can display
informations beamed from a mobile device
overcoming the small display size problem

These lenses also have an array of micro lenses to focus the image so that it
appears suspended in front of the wearers eye
 Current research

Another important area of research concerns DRUG

ADMINISTRATION through contact lenses

Contact lenses may release Silicone contact lens that contain E

anesthesia to the eye for post- vitamin deliver medication for up to 7
surgery applications days