Alcon, Inc.

Weihong Lang

Steve Yun Zhang

Daqing Wu

Richard Charles Breitkopf

Junhao Ge

Augustine Twum Kumi

Frank Chang

Ying Zheng

Zach Munoz

Feng Jing

Xinming Qian

Matthew D Nelson

Maria F Gubitosi Raspino

Troy Vernon Holland

Yuan Chang

Thomas M Moy

Karen Belinda Sentell

Wei Liang

The present invention generally relates to inherently wettable silicone hydrogel contact lenses having relatively high oxygen permeability, relatively high equilibrium water content and relatively low elastic modulus. The present invention is also related to a method for making such inherently wettable silicone hydrogel contact lenses.

Silicone hydrogel contact lenses

The invention provides a class of photochromic polydiorganosiloxane vinylic crosslinkers. Each of the photochromic polydiorganosiloxane vinylic crosslinkers of the invention comprise (1) a polydiorganosiloxane polymer chain comprising dimethylsiloxane units and photochromic siloxane unit having one methyl substituent and one organic substituent having a photochromic moiety that capable of undergoing a reversible color change upon exposure to UV-irradiation or high-energy-violet light; (2) two terminal ethylenically-unsaturated groups. The invention also provides a soft photochromic contact lens, especially a photochromic silicone hydrogel contact lens, which comprises a crosslinked polymeric material comprising repeating units of at least one of such a class of photochromic polydiorganosiloxane vinylic crosslinkers. The invention further provides a method of producing a photochromic contact lens from a polymerizable composition comprising at least one of such a class of photochromic polydiorganosiloxane vinylic crosslinkers.

Photochromic polydiorganosiloxane vinylic crosslinkers

The invention provides a method for producing photochromic silicone hydrogel (SiHy) contact lenses based on thermal cast-molding technology in a relatively efficient and consistent manner. The method is characterized by selecting a high radical-reactive hydrophilic acrylic monomer while eliminating any low radical-reactive hydrophilic N-vinyl amide monomer in a lens formulation (polymerizable composition), by selecting a weight ratio of low-radical-reactive hydrophilic N-vinyl amide monomer to a high radical-reactive hydrophilic acrylic monomer in a lens formulation if the low radical-reactive hydrophilic N-vinyl amide monomer is needed, and/or by using a relatively high temperature thermal initiator in a lens formulation, to control the lens properties (e.g., water content, elastic modulus, etc.) and lens processability (capability of dry-delensing from molds) of thermally cast-molded SiHy contact lenses while minimizing loss in photochromic ability of resultant SiHy contact lenses.

Method for producing photochromic contact lenses

The invention provides a contact lens manufacturing method for cast-molding of silicone hydrogel contact lenses having enhanced oxygen permeability without adversely affecting desirable lens mechanical properties (e.g., modulus). A method of the invention comprises adding a small amount of a radical scavenger (e.g., H-TEMPO) in a polymerizable composition for cast-molding of SiHy contact lenses) to provide the resultant polymerizable composition with a bi-phase curing profile at a curing temperature of from about 45&#xb0; C. to about 100&#xb0; C. With such a bi-phase curing profile, the resultant polymerizable composition can be thermally cured at the curing temperature to form a SiHy contact lens having an oxygen permeability higher than that for a polymerizable composition having the substantially identical composition excepting being free of any radical scavenger.

Method for preparing silicone hydrogels

The invention provides a method for making silicone hydrogel contact lenses. The method of the invention is characterized by using an organic solvent as a processing-aid tool for controlling lens diameter without significantly affecting lens equilibrium water content during cast-molding of soft contact lenses from a polymerizable composition. By adjusting the weight percentage of the organic solvent in a polymerizable composition for making SiHy contact lenses, one can adjust lens diameter of produced SiHy lenses to meet target without affecting adversely the lens properties.

Method for making silicone hydrogel contact lenses

The present invention generally relates to silicone hydrogel contact lenses each inherently having, on lens surfaces, a relatively-high concentration of primary amino groups and to a method for producing the same. The invention is also related to silicone hydrogel contact lens precursors each inherently having, on lens surfaces, a relatively-high concentration of N-Boc-protected primary amino groups which can be easily and conveniently deprotected during lens extraction and/or hydration steps.

The invention is generally related to a soft contact lens which comprises a hydrogel lens body and a coating of a hydrophilic copolymer thereon and to a method for producing the same. The hydrogel lens body comprises or is made of a polymeric material having 1,2- and/or 1,3-diol moieties, and the hydrophilic copolymer comprises arylborono-containing repeating units each having a boronic acid group. The coating is covalently-attached to the hydrogel lens body through cyclic boronic ester linkages each formed between one boronic acid group and one 1,2-diol or 1,3-diol group. The soft contact lens has a surface lubricity higher than the surface lubricity of the lens body.

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Suwanee, GA, United States of America

Weihong Lang