Effect of chain length, formulation concentration, hydrophile spacer and linear silicone structure of novel monomer on oxygen permeability of contact lenses

Hydrophilic silicone monomers (SiO Monomers) with Si-O repeats 13, 9, 3 (Figure 1) were designed and synthesized to use as ingredients for contact lenses. We investigated the effect of silicone chain length and formulation composition on oxygen permeability (Dk) of cured hydrogel films. In addition, films made with SiO Monomers were compared with films made from commercially available silicone monomers, methacrylate PDMS, TRIS and SIGMA. The influence on oxygen permeability (Dk) was studied using presence vs absence of hydrophile spacer and branched silicone vs. linear PDMS.