The impact of a hyaluronic acid-grafted layer on the surface properties of model silicone hydrogel contact lenses

The impact of a hyaluronic acid-grafted layer on the surface properties of model silicone hydrogel contact lenses

Article specifications

This study was published in 2018 in Journal of LANGMUIR (IF 2014:2.109) by American specialists. Aiming to improve the interfacial interactions of silicone hydrogel contact lenses with the ocular surface, a biomimetic layer of the hydrophilic glycosaminoglycan hyaluronic acid (HA) (100 kDa), was covalently attached to the surface of model poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-3-methacryloxypropyl-tris-(trimethylsiloxy)silane) (pHEMA-co-TRIS) silicone hydrogel materials via UV-induced thiol-ene “click” chemistry.

 

Results

The HA-grafted surfaces demonstrated reduced contact angles, dehydration rate and nonspecific deposition of lysozyme and albumin, while maintaining their optical transparency (>90%). In vitro studies demonstrated that the HA-grafted pHEMA-co-TRIS materials did not show any toxicity to human corneal epithelial cells. These results suggest that surface immobilization of HA via thiol-ene “click” chemistry can be used as a promising surface treatment for silicone hydrogel contact lenses.