Method for producing contact lenses with durable lubricious coatings thereon
First Claim
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1. A method for producing soft contact lenses, comprising the steps of:
- (1) obtaining a preformed silicone hydrogel contact lens in a dry state;
(2) subjecting the preformed silicone hydrogel contact lens in the dry state to a surface treatment to obtain a silicone hydrogel contact lens with a base coating thereon, wherein the base coating comprises a prime plasma layer, a reactive polymer layer on top of the prime plasma layer, and reactive functional groups selected from the group consisting of carboxyl groups, primary amino groups, secondary amino groups, and combinations thereof, wherein the surface treatment comprises the sub-steps of(a) plasma-treating the surface of the preformed silicone hydrogel contact lens in the dry state with a plasma to obtain a silicone hydrogel contact lens with the prime plasma layer thereon, wherein the plasma is generated in a plasma gas composed of air, N2, O2, CO2, or a mixture of a C1-C6 hydrocarbon and a secondary gas selected from the group consisting of air, N2, O2, CO2, and combinations thereof, wherein the prime plasma layer has a thickness of from about 0.5 nm to about 40 nm, and(b) contacting the silicone hydrogel contact lens with the prime plasma layer thereon with a first aqueous solution including a reactive hydrophilic polymer having multiple reactive functional groups selected from the group consisting of carboxyl groups, primary amino groups, secondary amino groups, and combinations thereof to form the base coating which include the reactive polymer layer of the reactive hydrophilic polymer on top of the prime plasma layer; and
(3) heating the silicone hydrogel contact lens with the base coating thereon obtained in step (2), in a second aqueous solution which comprises a water-soluble and thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material having azetidinium groups and optionally primary or secondary amino groups and/or carboxyl groups, at a temperature of from about 60°
C. to about 140°
C. for a time period sufficient long to crosslink the water-soluble thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material and the base coating so as to form a hydrogel coating on the silicone hydrogel contact lens, wherein the silicone hydrogel contact lens in fully hydrated state has a WBUT of at least about 10 seconds and a friction rating of about 3 or lower.
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Abstract
The invention is related to a method for producing silicone hydrogel contact lenses with a stable lubricious hydrogel coating thereon. 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.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for producing soft contact lenses, comprising the steps of:
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(1) obtaining a preformed silicone hydrogel contact lens in a dry state; (2) subjecting the preformed silicone hydrogel contact lens in the dry state to a surface treatment to obtain a silicone hydrogel contact lens with a base coating thereon, wherein the base coating comprises a prime plasma layer, a reactive polymer layer on top of the prime plasma layer, and reactive functional groups selected from the group consisting of carboxyl groups, primary amino groups, secondary amino groups, and combinations thereof, wherein the surface treatment comprises the sub-steps of (a) plasma-treating the surface of the preformed silicone hydrogel contact lens in the dry state with a plasma to obtain a silicone hydrogel contact lens with the prime plasma layer thereon, wherein the plasma is generated in a plasma gas composed of air, N2, O2, CO2, or a mixture of a C1-C6 hydrocarbon and a secondary gas selected from the group consisting of air, N2, O2, CO2, and combinations thereof, wherein the prime plasma layer has a thickness of from about 0.5 nm to about 40 nm, and (b) contacting the silicone hydrogel contact lens with the prime plasma layer thereon with a first aqueous solution including a reactive hydrophilic polymer having multiple reactive functional groups selected from the group consisting of carboxyl groups, primary amino groups, secondary amino groups, and combinations thereof to form the base coating which include the reactive polymer layer of the reactive hydrophilic polymer on top of the prime plasma layer; and (3) heating the silicone hydrogel contact lens with the base coating thereon obtained in step (2), in a second aqueous solution which comprises a water-soluble and thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material having azetidinium groups and optionally primary or secondary amino groups and/or carboxyl groups, at a temperature of from about 60°
C. to about 140°
C. for a time period sufficient long to crosslink the water-soluble thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material and the base coating so as to form a hydrogel coating on the silicone hydrogel contact lens, wherein the silicone hydrogel contact lens in fully hydrated state has a WBUT of at least about 10 seconds and a friction rating of about 3 or lower. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A silicone hydrogel contact lens, comprising:
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a silicone hydrogel substrate; a base coating on the surface of the silicone hydrogel substrate, wherein the base coating comprises a prime plasma layer and a reactive polymer layer on top of the prime plasma layer, wherein the plasma prime layer has a thickness of from about 0.5 nm to about 40 nm, wherein the reactive polymer comprises reactive functional groups selected from the group consisting of carboxyl groups, primary amino groups, secondary amino groups, and combinations thereof; and a non-silicone hydrogel coating covalently attached onto the base coating, wherein the non-silicone hydrogel coating is covalently attached onto the reactive polymer layer through multiple reactive functional groups, wherein the silicone hydrogel contact lens in a fully-hydrated state has an oxygen permeability of at least about 40 barrers, a WBUT of at least about 10 seconds, a friction rating of about 3 or lower, and a water contact angle of about 80 degrees or less.
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Specification