Characterization of hydrogel biomaterials and their interaction with components of the human tear film

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Biomaterials are materials of natural or artificial origin that can mimic, store, or come into close contact with living biological cells or fluids. Biomaterials have exhibited steady growth over the past half century, particularly in the areas of medicine, biology, chemistry, pharmacy and materials science. Some examples of biomaterials include heart valves, blood vessels, artificial joint replacements, breast implants, intraocular lens (IOL) implants, and contact lenses (CL), of which the latter two are among the most widely used. Over 140 million people worldwide wear contact lenses (CL), of which 3 million reside in Canada. Approximately 90% of CL wearers use soft, hydrogel lenses, which are typically replaced after being used for 1 day to 1 month. Each year, 250,000 cataract extractions are performed in Canada, of which over 95% will have an IOL implant inserted. Thus, a rough calculation would suggest that each year in Canada alone, some 32 million new hydrogel CLs or IOLs are used by patients. These materials come into direct contact with the tear film on the surface of the eye or the aqueous humour within the eye, which are highly complex fluids containing a wide variety of proteins, lipids, ions, growth factors, metabolites and electrolytes. Once exposed to these fluids, CLs and IOLs deposit various components, some of which may induce inflammatory responses. Obtaining a greater understanding of the quantity and location of various deposited components will help to further our understanding of the development of next generation ocular biomaterials. While development of methods to examine protein and lipid interactions with hydrogel biomaterials would obviously be of interest to ocular biomaterial researchers, such methods would be applicable to the general biomaterials arena. This project will use a number of unique analytical techniques to characterise the surface of novel and commercially-available hydrogel contact lens and IOL materials and to investigate their interaction with components of the tear film and aqueous humour of the inner eye. It will specifically look at protein and lipid deposition, to attempt to provide materials that have better in vivo performance.