Abstract
Purpose: :
Development in intraocular lens (IOL) preparation and design have led to applications of IOLs with improved performance including tinting, asphericity, multifocality and accommodation. To optimize the visual property of these IOLs, postoperative complications such as secondary cataracts and anterior capsule contraction must be prevented.
Methods: :
In this study, low-temperature plasma treatment was adopted to modify the surface of IOL material to improve their hydrophilicity and morphology. The influence of durations and power on the surface hydrophilicity and morphology were studied. FT-IR, XPS, static contact angle measurement, SEM and AFM were used to analyze the surface chemical composition, hydrophilicity, morphology. Human lens epithelial cells (LEC) were seeded onto these materials and cultured for 1 week to study its anti-cell fouling properties.
Results: :
The results proved that plasma treatment significantly could increase the hydrophilicity of the materials surface, thus reduce fouling of bovine serum albumin and adhesion of blood platelets and LECs.
Conclusions: :
The surface hydrophilicity of lens material was successfully attained through plasma treatment. The resulting material exhibited an excellent protein and LEC repelling ability. Surface modification of IOL materials via plasma treatment is supposed to be an effective way to inhibit posterior capsular opacification and enhance the visual properties of IOL.
Keywords: intraocular lens • posterior capsular opacification (PCO) • optical properties