Soft contact lenses capable of sustained delivery of timolol.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of the composition and the application of an imprinting technique on the loading capability of weakly crosslinked hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) hydrogels, with a view to their use as reloadable soft contact lenses for administration of timolol. Hydrogels were prepared by dissolution of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA, 10 mM) in HEMA with or without methacrylic acid (MAA) or methyl methacrylate (MMA; 100-400 mM) and with or without timolol maleate (10 mg/mL), initiation of polymerization by addition of 2,2'-azo-bis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN, 10 mM), injection in molds, and curing in an oven at 50-70 degrees C. Unreacted reagents were removed by boiling.