Preparation and Characterization of Functional Ophthalmic Polymer Containing Nanoparticles Using Heat Treatment Method After Polymerization.

The functional hydrogel lens containing HEMA (2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) was manufactured by thermal polymerization and heat treatment method after room temperature polymerization, respectively. In this study, HEMA, EGDMA (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) and the initiator AIBN (azobisisobutyronitrile) were used for thermal copolymerization and the mixture was heated at 100 °C for 1 hour. And also, HEMA, EGDMA, the initiator and distilled water were used for heat treatment method after room temperature copolymerization and the mixture was heated 80 °C for 1 hour and then treated at 100 °C for 1 hour to produce the hydrogel ophthalmic lens by cast mold method. To make the functional hydrogel lens, ZnPC and platinum octaethyl porphyrin were used as additives. The measurements of the physical characteristics of the copolymerized material showed that refractive index and contact angle of sample was in the range of 1.4010∼1.4585 and 21.46∼87.28°, respectively. In case of heat treatment method after room temperature copolymerization, the refractive index and wettability of sample was higher than that of thermal polymerization. And also, the addition of ZnPC nanoparticles allowed the hydrogel lens to block UV-light. The absorbance value of solution in which the lens prepared by the heat treatment method was immersed were much lower than that of thermal polymerization, so it can be judged that the stabilization of produced polymer maintained well. Based on the results of this study, the produced optical lens can be considered to satisfy the basic requirements of optical lens and can be used effectively as an additive for functional ophthalmic lens material with high refractive index and wettability.