Novartis Ag

Alcon, Inc.

Ciba Vision Corporation

Ciba-geigy Corporation

Harald Bothe

Bernhard Seiferling

Peter Hagmann

Peter Herbrechtsmeier

Lynn Cook Winterton

John Dallas Pruitt

Yasuo Matsuzawa

Otto Kretzschmar

Sharla Borghorst

John Golby

Jüergen Vogt

Achim Muller

Heike Arndt

Yongxing Qiu

Achim Müller

Horst Schafer

Katharina Schmid

Katharina Nikolaus

Stephan Wittmar

Achim M&uuml;ller

Thomas Wasse

Arnulf-Dieter Schluter

Rainer Freudenberger

Michael Tretter

The invention provides a method for determining whether a coated contact lens is completely covered by a covalently bonded coating, comprising the steps of (1) providing a coated polyvinylalcohol-based hydrogel contact lens wherein the polyvinylalcohol-based hydrogel lens body is composed of a polymer comprising at least 50% by mole of repeating units of vinyl alcohol, comprising a lubricious coating covalently attached to the lens body, (2) contacting the coated polyvinylalcohol-based hydrogel contact lens with an aqueous solution of a hydrophilic marker polymer for obtaining a treated contact lens, the hydrophilic marker polymer having reactive groups of in which Ris methyl or ethyl and Ris hydrogen or a C-Calkyl and a dye tag moiety, at a pH of 4.0 or less for a contacting time to covalently attach the marker polymer onto the coated polyvinylalcohol-based hydrogel contact lens through 6-membered acetal rings, (3) determining whether marker polymer is (covalently) attached to the surface of the treated contact lens.

Evaluation method for the coverage of a coating on a contact lens surface

The invention is generally related to soft contact lenses which comprise a polyvinylalcohol-based hydrogel lens body and a durable lubricious coating thereon which are covalently attached to the polyvinylalcohol-based hydrogel lens body through 6-membered acetal rings and to a method for producing the same.

Soft contact lenses with a lubricious coating covalently-attached thereon

The invention is related to a method for producing silicone hydrogel contact lenses with a stable lubricious hydrogel coating thereon providing a low surface friction. A method of the invention comprises forming a plasma-reactive hydrophilic polymer hybrid base coating having reactive functional groups on a silicone hydrogel contact lens and heating the silicone hydrogel contact lens with the hybrid base coating in an aqueous solution of a water-soluble and thermally crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material to form a stable lubricious hydrogel coating thereon.

Method for producing contact lenses with wearing comfort

Described herein is a cost-effective and time-efficient method for making UV-absorbing contact lenses. In contrast to the conventional method for making UV-absorbing contact lenses which involves copolymerizing a lens forming composition including a UV-absorbing vinylic monomer, a method of the invention involves dipping a contact lens in a solution of UV-absorbing polymer comprising carboxyl-containing monomeric units, UV-absorbing monomeric units and covalently bound radical-initiating moieties to form a UV-absorbing coating on the contact lens.

Method for making improved UV-absorbing ophthalmic lenses

A method of treating of a lens forming surface () of at least one mold half () of a mold for molding an ophthalmic lens, in particular of the lens forming surface of a glass mold half for molding a contact lens, especially a soft contact lens, includes the steps of:

Method of treating a lens forming surface of at least one mold half of a mold for molding ophthalmic lenses

Described herein is a cost-effective and time-efficient method for making UV-absorbing contact lenses. In contrast to the conventional method for making UV-absorbing contact lenses which involves copolymerizing a lens forming composition including a UV-absorbing vinylic monomer, a method of the invention involves dipping a contact lens in a solution of UV-absorbing polymer comprising carboxyl-containing monomeric units and UV-absorbing monomeric units to form a UV-absorbing coating on the contact lens.

Method for making UV-absorbing ophthalmic lenses

The instant invention pertains to a method and a fluid composition for producing contact lenses with improved lens quality and with increased product yield. The method of the invention involves adding a phospholipid into a fluid composition including a lens-forming material in an amount sufficient to reduce an averaged mold separation force by at least about 40% in comparison with that without the phospholipids.

Method for making contact lenses

The invention relates to a process for the manufacture of a hydrophilic coating on a biomedical article, which comprises treating the biomedical article for a time period of &#x2266;5 minutes with a solution of an organic solvent comprising a polyanionic compound with a number average molecular weight Mof &#x3e;5000, wherein the solution comprises less than 10% by weight of water, and wherein the solution is devoid of a cationic polymer. The coated biomedical articles obtainable by the process of the invention have desirable characteristics regarding adherence to the substrate, durability, hydrophilicity, wettability, biocompatibility and permeability and are thus especially useful in the field of ophthalmic devices.

Process for the coating of biomedical articles

An apparatus and method for the production of ophthalmic lenses, and particularly contact lenses, which minimizes damage of the lens in removal from the mold. The ophthalmic lens is produced in a mold having a male part and a female part that are placed in proximate relation to each other to create a lens-forming cavity. At least the female surface of the female part mold is preferably coated with plasma and is irradiated for a predetermined time such that the female surface and/or surface coating is at least partially cured. Once the female surface, and alternately the male surface and other surfaces of the mold, is at least partially cured, a curable lens-forming material is placed into the lens-forming cavity and cured to form an ophthalmic lens.

Apparatus and method for the production of ophthalmic lenses

The invention relates to a process for the manufacture of a molding comprising the steps of

Process for the manufacture of moldings

The present invention describes novel statistical copolymers and the preparation and possible uses thereof. Copolymers are described that are water-soluble and cross-linkable and that comprise the copolymerization product of a monomer mixture consisting substantially of a vinyl lactam (a) and at least one further vinyl monomer (b) of a different type selected from the group consisting of hydrophobic, hydrophilic and functional vinyl monomers, wherein the monomers are present in the copolymer in the form of statistically distributed building blocks, and, if a functional vinyl monomer is present as a building block in the copolymer, that building block is, where appropriate, modified with a reactive vinyl monomer (c), the reactive vinyl monomer (c) being linked to a building block of a functional vinyl monomer with retention of its vinylic group and with the formation of a covalent bond.

Cross-linkable copolymers and hydrogels

The present invention describes novel statistical copolymers and the preparation and possible uses thereof. Copolymers are described that are water-soluble and cross-linkable and that comprise the copolymerisation product of a monomer mixture consisting substantially of a vinyl lactam (a) and at least one further vinyl monomer (b) of a different type selected from the group consisting of hydrophobic, hydrophilic and functional vinyl monomers, wherein the monomers are present in the copolymer in the form of statistically distributed building blocks, and, if a functional vinyl monomer is present as a building block in the copolymer, that building block is, where appropriate, modified with a reactive vinyl monomer (c), the reactive vinyl monomer (c) being linked to a building block of a functional vinyl monomer with retention of its vinylic group and with the formation of a covalent bond.

Growing community of inventors

Wiesbaden, Germany

Harald Bothe