Study of dehydration and water states in new and worn soft contact lens materials

The purpose of this study was to examine the in vitro dehydration characteristics of new and worn conventional and silicone-hydrogel contact lenses. Four contact lens materials were investigated: three conventional hydrogels (etafilcon, nelfilcon, omafilcon) and one silicone-hydrogel (narafilcon). Gravimetric data were obtained with analytical balance with 1 min intervals. Quantitative parameters of water content and dehydration rate were calculated allowing quantitative description of dehydration process. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to monitor changes in water states in samples studied. As expected, dehydration behavior of each material is different in terms of mean dehydration rate values and phases of dehydration. Gravimetric data allowed us to distinguish three phases of dehydration. Interestingly, the effect of the osmolality of storing solutions on dehydration was found – lenses stored in hyperosmotic solutions needed more time to achieve equilibrium with the environment. Effect of wearing on dehydration patterns and water properties was confirmed. In worn samples, a decrease in water content was observed. Additionally, there was a change in water structure after 6 h of wearing in all lenses studied. This behavior may be ascribed to tear film components deposition and changes in surface wettability that appear during wearing.