Novartis Ag

Alcon, Inc.

Chandana Kolluru

Yongxing Qiu

John Dallas Pruitt

Lynn Cook Winterton

Daqing Wu

Xinming Qian

Jared Nelson

Arturo Norberto Medina

Newton T Samuel

Zahra Bassampour

Steve Yun Zhang

Bradley Quinter

Richard Charles Breitkopf

Michelle Plavnik

Cornelius Daniel Niculas

David Andrew Icenogle

Frank Chang

Joseph Michael Lindacher

Junhao Ge

Adam K Sniady

Yasuo Matsuzawa

Yuan Chang

Augustine Twum Kumi

Thomas M Moy

Jing Cheng

Yang Zheng

David Borja

Ying Pi

Maria A Dunkle

The invention provides a delamination-resistant embedded silicone hydrogel contact lens having an insert that is embedded in a silicone hydrogel bulk material. The insert is made of a crosslinked polymeric material having a refractive index higher than that of the silicone hydrogel bulk material by at least 0.07 and comprises a diffractive structure disposed on one of the front and back curve surfaces of the insert for providing a diffractive power that contributes to the overall optical power of the contact lens.

Diffractive contact lenses

The invention relates to a method for producing embedded hydrogel contact lenses each having an insert that comprises alignment features capable of capable of aligning the insert in depth and radial position in a female mold half during cast molding of an embedded hydrogel contact lens. The alignment features protrude from the front surface, are rotationally symmetric with respect to the central axis of the insert and independently have a shape having a curvature being greater than 2 folds of the curvature of the molding surface so as to minimize contacting area between the alignment features and the molding surface. The use of such an insert can simplify the process for producing embedded hydrogel contact lenses and enable the process to be implemented readily in an automatic production.

Method for making embedded hydrogel contact lenses

The invention is related to a cost-effective method for making a silicone hydrogel contact lens having a crosslinked hydrophilic coating thereon. A method of the invention involves heating a silicone hydrogel contact lens in an aqueous solution in the presence of a water-soluble, highly branched, thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material having positively-charged azetidinium groups, to and at a temperature from about 40° C. to about 140° C. for a period of time sufficient to covalently attach the thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material onto the surface of the silicone hydrogel contact lens through covalent linkages each formed between one azetidinium group and one of the reactive functional groups on and/or near the surface of the silicone hydrogel contact lens, thereby forming a crosslinked hydrophilic coating on the silicone hydrogel contact lens. Such method can be advantageously implemented directly in a sealed lens package during autoclave.

Silicone hydrogel lens with a crosslinked hydrophilic coating

The invention relates to a method for producing embedded hydrogel contact lenses involving a set of 3-mold halves consisting essentially of: one female lens mold half having a molding surface defining the anterior surface of a contact lens; one male lens mold half having a molding surface defining the posterior surface of the contact lens; and an insert mold half having a molding surface defining one of the front and back surfaces of an insert. One of the lens mold halves is used twice: first with the insert mold half for molding an insert during first curing process and then with the other lens mold half for molding an embedded hydrogel contact lens with the molded insert embedded partially or fully therein during second curing process. The invention also relates to embedded hydrogel contact lenses produced from a method of the invention.

Embedded hydrogel contact lenses

The invention relates to a method for producing embedded hydrogel contact lenses each having a magnetized insert that comprises magnetic particles and is centrally embedded in the bulk hydrogel material of the embedded hydrogel contact lens. During molding, a magnetized insert can be centered and held in position in a lens mold by using a magnet placed below the lens mold. The invention also relates to an embedded hydrogel contact lens produced from a method of the invention.

Described herein is a method for producing a contact lens comprising a central photochromic zone that has a diameter of about 13 mm or less and is concentric with the central axis of the contact lens. The method comprises: applying a first polymerizable fluid composition containing at least one photochromic compound on a central portion of the molding surface of a female mold half to form a circular layer; partially photocuring, in situ, the circular layer in the female mold half by using a visible light; dispensing a second polymerizable fluid composition over the partially-cured circular layer on the molding surface of the female mold half; and a step of thermally curing the second polymerizable fluid composition and the partially-cured circular layer immersed therein in the mold cavity formed between the molding surfaces of the female mold half and a male mold half.

Method for making photochromic contact lenses

The invention is related to a cost-effective method for making a silicone hydrogel contact lens having a crosslinked hydrophilic coating thereon. A method of the invention involves autoclaving, in a sealed lens package, a silicone hydrogel contact lens having a base coating of polyacrylic acid thereon in an aqueous solution in the presence of a water-soluble, crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material having epoxide groups, for a period of time sufficient to covalently attach the crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material onto the surface of the silicone hydrogel contact lens through covalent linkages each formed between one epoxide group and one of the carboxyl groups on and/or near the surface of the silicone hydrogel contact lens.

The invention is related to a cost-effective method for making a silicone hydrogel contact lens having a crosslinked hydrophilic coating thereon. A method of the invention involves heating a silicone hydrogel contact lens in an aqueous solution in the presence of a water-soluble, highly branched, thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material having positively-charged azetidinium groups, to and at a temperature from about 40&#xb0; C. to about 140&#xb0; C. for a period of time sufficient to covalently attach the thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material onto the surface of the silicone hydrogel contact lens through covalent linkages each formed between one azetidinium group and one of the reactive functional groups on and/or near the surface of the silicone hydrogel contact lens, thereby forming a crosslinked hydrophilic coating on the silicone hydrogel contact lens. Such method can be advantageously implemented directly in a sealed lens package during autoclave.

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Suwanee, GA, United States of America

Chandana Kolluru