Characterization and analysis of extended-wear silicone hydrogel contact lenses utilizing novel silicone macromers.

Contact lenses are one of the most successful biomaterials in history with a global market estimated to be worth over $17 billion in 2025. Silicone hydrogel contact lenses dominate the market and are complex biphasic biomaterials with several critical material properties needed for clinical use. Careful consideration of composition and chemistry is needed to identify formulations of lenses meeting all commercial standards with the potential for improved manufacturability, cost, and/or next generation use.

Controlled Release of Multiple Therapeutics From Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses for Post-Cataract/Post-Refractive Surgery and Uveitis Treatment.

Purpose: This work demonstrates seven-day controlled and extended in vitro physiological flow dual release of multiple post-ocular surgery therapeutics from extended-wear contact lenses as a dropless alternative for treatment of uveitis and corneal inflammation, pain, and infection. Lens replacement each week optimizes treatment matching patient recall time with the ability to increase or decrease dosage.

Methods: Lenses were synthesized using molecular imprinting to create lenses with macromolecular memory for diclofenac sodium (DS) and dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DMSP), as well as bromfenac sodium (BS) and moxifloxacin (MOX).

One Week Sustained In Vivo Therapeutic Release and Safety of Novel Extended-Wear Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses.

Since the seminal work of Wichterle in 1965 describing the first soft contact lenses and their potential for ocular drug delivery, the field has yet to realize his vision. Maintaining all lens commercial properties combined with a mechanism for controlled drug release of therapeutically relevant concentrations for duration of wear is a major challenge. Here, successful in vivo week-long sustained release of a small molecular weight therapeutic in rabbits from extended-wear silicone hydrogel contact lenses meeting all commercial specifications by utilizing a novel macromolecular memory strategy is reported for the first time.

In vivo drug delivery via contact lenses: The current state of the field from origins to present.

Over the past half century, contact lenses have been investigated for their potential as drug delivery devices for ocular therapeutics. Hundreds of studies have been published in the pursuit of the most effective and efficient release strategies and methods for contact lens drug delivery. This paper provides a thorough overview of the various contact lens drug delivery strategies, with a specific, comprehensive focus on studies that have been published since the field began in 1965.

Controlled architecture for improved macromolecular memory within polymer networks.

This brief review analyzes recent developments in the field of living/controlled polymerization and the potential of this technique for creating imprinted polymers with highly structured architecture with macromolecular memory. As a result, it is possible to engineer polymers at the molecular level with increased homogeneity relating to enhanced template binding and transport. Only recently has living/controlled polymerization been exploited to decrease heterogeneity and substantially improve the efficiency of the imprinting process for both highly and weakly crosslinked imprinted polymers.

Controlled Release of Multiple Therapeutics from Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses.

Purpose: The majority of contact lens wearers experience a significant level of ocular discomfort associated with lens wear, often within hours of wear, related to dry lenses, inflammation, protein adhesion to the lens surface, etc. Application of controlled drug release techniques has focused on the incorporation and/or release of a single comfort molecule from a lens including high molecular weight comfort agents or pharmaceutical agents. Previous studies have sought to mitigate the occurrence of only single propagators of discomfort.