June 2015
Volume 56, Issue 7
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   June 2015
Contact Mechanics of High Water Content Hydrogels
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Angela A Pitenis
    Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
  • Juan Manuel Uruena
    Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
  • Kyle Schulze
    Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
  • Ryan Nixon
    Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
  • Alison C Dunn
    Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
  • Wallace Gregory Sawyer
    Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
    Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
  • Thomas Angelini
    Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
    J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships Angela Pitenis, Alcon Laboratories (F); Juan Uruena, Alcon Laboratories (F); Kyle Schulze, Alcon Laboratories (F); Ryan Nixon, Alcon Laboratories (F); Alison Dunn, None; Wallace Sawyer, A (F); Thomas Angelini, Alcon Laboratories (F)
  • Footnotes
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Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science June 2015, Vol.56, 6116. doi:
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    • Get Citation

      Angela A Pitenis, Juan Manuel Uruena, Kyle Schulze, Ryan Nixon, Alison C Dunn, Wallace Gregory Sawyer, Thomas Angelini; Contact Mechanics of High Water Content Hydrogels. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2015;56(7 ):6116.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Purpose: The relationship between contact lens comfort and the stiffness of the lens surface is not well understood. Recently, sliding glass probes against contact lenses with hydrogel surface gels has shown low friction at low loads and high friction at high loads, indicating gel collapse1. In this work, the contact mechanics of high water content hydrogels poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) and polyacrylamide (PAAm) in a Gemini interface2 were explored to elucidate the origins of this transition in lubricity.

Methods: To create a Gemini contact, a probe and a disk were made of 7.5% polymer3. The probe had a radius of curvature of 2 mm and the hydrogel disk was 4.5 mm thick and 30 mm in radius. The contact area was determined by in situ microscopy during an indent. Indentations were performed by loading the probe against the disk to 2 mN at a rate of 65 µm s-1 with a microtribometer. Prior to indents, the system was heated above the lower critical solvation temperature (LCST) of pNIPAM. Indents were performed continuously throughout the cooling process until the system reached room temperature.

Results: For high-water content hydrogels in a swollen state we see low stiffness and adhesion and the loading and unloading curves show nearly Hertzian behavior. Hydrogels in a collapsed state exhibit nearly twice the stiffness and an order of magnitude increase in adhesion force and indentation curves followed the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) model of elastic contact.

Conclusions: Previous work was performed with glass probes, but a Gemini hydrogel configuration better models the ocular environment. A gel with zero adhesion obeys traditional Hertzian contact mechanics. If adhesion were to occur between a contact lens and a biological surface in the eye, our results suggest that the contact mechanics of this system would be better described by JKR Theory. Acknowledgements: This work was funded by Alcon Laboratories References: 1. Dunn AC, Urueña JM, Huo Y, Perry SS, Angelini TE, Sawyer WG. Lubricity of Surface Hydrogel Layers. Tribol Lett 2013; 49:371-378. 2. Dunn AC, Sawyer WG, Angelini TE. Gemini Interfaces in Aqueous Lubrication with Hydrogels. Tribol Lett 2014; 54:59-66. 3. Pitenis AA, Urueña, Schulze KD, Nixon RM, Dunn AC, Krick BA, Sawyer WG, Angelini TE. Polymer fluctuation lubrication in hydrogel Gemini interfaces. Soft Matter 2014; 10, 8955

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