Synthesis and characterization of soft contact lens based on the combination of silicone nanoparticles with hydrophobic and hydrophilic monomers

In this study, soft contact lenses were prepared by the polymerization of N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA), 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NVP), and silicone nanoparticles (SiNPs). The physical and biochemical characterizations of all samples included scanning electron microscope (SEM), equilibrium water content (EWC), oxygen permeability (Dk), optical transparency, contact angle, mechanical properties, protein deposition, and cytotoxicity. The results indicated that the addition of SiNPs increased the Dk without affecting the EWC of the lenses. With 1.2 wt% of SiNPs, the Dk of p (DMA-co-NVP)-SiNPs was 94.8 barrers while its EWC remained at 85%. In particular, DNS12 exhibited a contact angle around 40°. In addition, protein deposition primarily depended on the negatively charged SiNPs. Higher SiNPs content led to lower human serum albumin (HSA) and higher lysozyme deposition on all samples. Moreover, L929 fibroblasts grew on all hydrogel samples, suggesting non-cytotoxicity. In general, the incorporation of SiNPs with hydrogels significantly increased the Dk without affecting much the optical transparency and moluli. These results may be applicable to develop novel ophthalmic biomaterials for soft contact lens.