Physicochemical Surface Properties of Various Intraocular Lenses

Abstract

PURPOSE: It is of major interest to understand how intraocular lens (IOL) surfaces interact with aqueous humor or tissues after implantation. Important parameters to describe the physicochemical surface properties are the contact angle and critical surface tension. Therefore, we performed measurements of the contact angle and critical surface tension of several commercially available IOLs. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, University Eye Hospital, Tübingen, and Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany. METHODS: A total of 17 commercially available standard quality IOL types (6 of each) of different materials from several manufacturers were studied. Scanning electron microscopy and contact angle measurements using the sessile drop method were made. RESULTS: The sessile drop method differentiated all materials based on their surface forces. The contact angle (mean +/- SD) ranged from 56.5 +/- 3.8b 3. CONCLUSION: Contact angles differed between the IOLs depending on the IOL material with the lowest contact angle in the heparin-surface-modified IOL. The contact angle measurement method generates useful information about the material surface and its potential biomaterial interactions.