Abstract
Purpose:
As a main component of an artificial tear or eye drop, Hyaluronic Acid (HA) prolongs water retention, slows tear removal, improves tear film stability, reduces protein adsorption at the ocular surface and permits uninterrupted blinking. Here, we hypothesized that the contact lens modified with a HA-binding peptide (HABpep) could locally bind and concentrate exogenous HA as present in artificial tears, to the modified contact lens surface and exhibit superior water retention.
Methods:
To bind HA, a contact lens surface was covalently modified by HABpep with and without a PEG spacer. Bound HA and its overtime retention on modified surfaces were evaluated by fluorescence measurements. To determine water retention in HA bound contact lens, a comparative water evaporation study was performed.
Results:
Fluorescence studies showed that the contact lens was successfully modified by HABpep with or without a PEG spacer, and HA could bind to the contact lens surface. Comparative water evaporation rate study demonstrated that the bound HA via HABpep could significantly reduce water loss from the contact lens.
Conclusions:
HABpep anchored on the contact lens surface could bind HA and enhanced water retention by reducing water evaporation rate. HABpep strategies that locally bind and concentrate HA to create a biomimetic coating of therapeutic molecule on surfaces could provide physical and biological benefits to treat ocular surface dysfunction.
Keywords: 486 cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye