Novartis Ag

Alcon, Inc.

Nanomimetics, Inc.

Other

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Yongxing Qiu

John Dallas Pruitt

Lynn Cook Winterton

Jared Nelson

John Martin Lally

Robert Carey Tucker

Newton T Samuel

Xinming Qian

Chung-Yuan Chiang

Daqing Wu

Arturo Norberto Medina

Chandana Kolluru

Sibichen J Thekveli

Frank Chang

Troy Vernon Holland

Robert A Scott

Michael F Rubner

Yasuo Matsuzawa

Yeming Gu

Yuan Chang

Venkat Shankar

Fiona Patricia Carney

Carol Ann Morris

Rafael Victor Andino

Peter Chabrecek

Paul Clement Nicolson

Allen Douglas Gilliard

Dieter Lohmann

Steve Yun Zhang

Peter Hagmann

Richard Charles Breitkopf

John Christopher Phelan

Harald Bothe

Courtney Flem Morgan

Ellen A Day

Jan J Lewandowski

Zach Munoz

Deborah Jean Mulcahy

William Jordan Hall

Juergen Vogt

Jacalyn Mary Schremmer

Jürgen Vogt

Ciara Dauenhauer

Roger Marchant

Tianhong Zhang

Mark A Ruegsegger

Kelly Kayi Tallau

Ethan Leveillee

Yash Kapoor

Manal M Gabriel

Angela Driver-Scott

Sung Yun Yang

Matthew McCollum

Richard Govan

Ritu Shrestha

Nichola Kotov

J&ouml;rg Leukel

Hans Jorge Griesser

Paul Pasic

Manivakkam J Shankernarayanan

Kasey Jon Minick

Leroy Wainaina Muya

Marcia Kay Ash

Hans Jörg Griesser

Peter Kambouris

Yubiao Liu

Celeste Aguado

Paul William Oyler

Hyeju Kim

Rita Anand

Maria A Dunkle

Rebeca Kyker Bowden

Benjamin David Sullivan

Dharmesh Patel

Matthew Mccollum

The invention is related to a contact lens, especially a SiHy contact lens, which comprises a lens bulk material covered with an outer surface hydrogel layer thereon and has a posterior surface and an opposite anterior surface. The outer surface hydrogel layer consists of an anterior outer hydrogel layer and a posterior outer hydrogel layer. A contact lens of the invention is characterized by having a difference in surface softness between its posterior (BC) and anterior (FC) surfaces.

Contact lenses with surfaces having different softness

The invention is related to a hydrated silicone hydrogel contact lens having a layered structural configuration: a lower water content silicone hydrogel core (or bulk material) completely covered with a layer of a higher water content hydrogel totally or substantially free of silicone. A hydrated silicone hydrogel contact lens of the invention possesses high oxygen permeability for maintaining the corneal health and a soft, water-rich, lubricious surface for wearing comfort.

Silicone hydrogel lenses with water-rich surfaces

The invention is related to a coated contact lens, especially a coated silicone hydrogel contact lens, which comprises an anterior surface, an opposite posterior surface, and a layered structural configuration from the anterior surface to the posterior surface. The layered structural configuration comprises an outer anterior surface hydrogel layer, an inner layer, and an outer posterior surface hydrogel layer. The inner layer is a lens bulk material. The coated contact lens has a superior lens surface softness and a good lens surface hydrophilicity while optionally having a desirably-lower polyquaternium-1 uptake.

Contact lenses with softer lens surfaces

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 is related to contact lenses that not only comprise the much desired water gradient structural configurations, but also have a minimized uptakes of polycationic antimicrobials and a long-lasting surface hydrophilicity and wettability even after going through a 30-days lens care regime. Because of the water gradient structural configuration and a relatively-thick, extremely-soft and water-rich hydrogel surface layer, a contact lens of the invention can provide superior wearing comfort. Further, a contact lens of the invention is compatible with multipurpose lens care solutions present in the market and can endure the harsh lens care handling conditions (e.g., digital rubbings, accidental inversion of contact lenses, etc.) encountered in a daily lens care regime. As such, they are suitable to be used as weekly- or monthly-disposable water gradient contact lenses.

Weekly and monthly disposable water gradient contact lenses

The invention is generally related to a method for producing, in a consistent manner, contact lenses each having an intact durable coating thereon, wherein the coating is a hydrogel coating formed by covalently attached a hydrophilic polymeric material having azetidinium groups onto a base coating of a polyanionic polymer on a contact lens at a relatively low temperature (e.g., from about 40&#xb0; C. to about 60&#xb0; C.). The coating temperature for forming a durable hydrogel coating on top of the base coating of a contact lens can be significantly lowered by raising, in situ, the pH (to about 9.5 or higher) of a reactive coating solution which contains the hydrophilic polymeric material having azetidinium groups.

Method for producing coated 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&#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.

The invention is generally related to a method for producing coated silicone hydrogel contact lenses each of which has a hydrogel coating thereon and a relative high resistance to uptakes of polycationic antimicrobials as characterized by having a polyquaternium-1-uptake of less than 0.40 micrograms/lens. The hydrogel coating is formed by covalently attached a hydrophilic polymeric material onto a base coating of a polyanionic polymer on a SiHy contact lens. In this method, lower polyquaternium-1-uptake is achieved by using a rinse solution with a higher pH and/or a higher ionic strength (higher salt concentration) for rinsing a treated silicone hydrogel contact lens with a base coating of polyanionic polymer.

Method for making coated silicone hydrogel contact lenses

The invention is related to a method for producing soft contact lenses comprises a silicone hydrogel lens body and a composite coating thereon. The composite coating comprises: a plasma base coating which is chemically-attached directly onto the surface of the silicone hydrogel contact lens and functions as a fail-proof measure for ensuring the hydrophobic silicone hydrogel lens material to be shielded from any exposure to ocular environments even after at least 30 days of daily uses including daily waring and daily cleaning/disinfecting; and a relatively-durable lubricious hydrogel top coating for ensuring wearing comfort. 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. This method has a minimized adverse impact on the mechanical properties of silicone hydrogel lens body.

Process for producing contact lenses with durable lubricious coatings thereon

The invention is generally related to a method for producing, in a consistent manner, SiHy contact lenses each having an intact durable coating thereon, wherein the coating is a hydrogel coating formed by covalently attached a hydrophilic polymeric material onto a base coating of a polyanionic polymer on a SiHy contact lens. In this method, the base coating is formed by having two solution coating steps separated by at least one rinsing step with a buffered saline or pH controlled solution. The durability of the hydrogel coatings on resultant silicone hydrogel contact lenses can be improved significantly and will not vary with the optical power (i.e., the center thickness) of the SiHy contact lens under coating.

Method for producing coated silicone hydrogel contact lenses

The invention is related to a process for producing contact lenses that not only comprise a water gradient structural configurations, but also have a minimized uptakes of polyquaternium-1 and a long-lasting surface hydrophilicity and wettability even after being undergone a 30-days lens care regime.

Method for producing MPS-compatible water gradient contact lenses

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Duluth, GA, United States of America

Yongxing Qiu