Physicochemical surface properties of various intraocular lenses

Purpose: It is of major interest to understand how intraocular lens (IOL) s urfaces interact with aqueous humor or tissues after implantation. Importan t parameters to describe the physicochemical surface properties are the con tact angle and critical surface tension. Therefore, we performed measuremen ts of the contact angle and critical surface tension of several commerciall y available IOLs. Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, University Eye Hospital, Tubingen, and Max Planck Instit ute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany. Methods: A total of 17 commercial ly available standard quality IOL types (6 of each) of different materials from several manufacturers were studied. Scanning electron microscopy and c ontact angle measurements using the sessile drop method were made. Results: The sessile drop method differentiated all materials based on their surfac e forces. The contact angle (mean SD) ranged from 56.5 +/- 3.8 degrees (Cee On 811C, Pharmacia) to 119.0 +/- 3 degrees (Silens 6, Bausch & Lomb). Concl usion: Contact angles differed between the IOLs depending on the IOL materi al with the lowest contact angle in the heparin-surface-modified IOL. The c ontact angle measurement method generates useful information about the mate rial surface and its potential biomaterial interactions. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.