Provided is a process for making an ophthalmic devices and ophthalmic devices resulting from the process. The process comprises: (a) providing a first reactive composition containing: (i) a polymerization initiator that is capable, upon a first activation, of forming two or more free radical groups, at least one of which is further activatable by subsequent activation; (ii) one or more ethylenically unsaturated compounds; and (iii) a crosslinker; (b) subjecting the first reactive composition to a first activation step such that the first reactive composition polymerizes therein to form a crosslinked substrate network containing a covalently bound activatable free radical initiator; (c) contacting the crosslinked substrate network with a grafting composition containing a shrinking agent and one or more ethylenically unsaturated compounds; and (d) activating the covalently bound activatable free radical initiator of the crosslinked substrate network such that the grafting composition polymerizes therein with the crosslinked substrate network.

A contact lens comprising one or more microchannels for transport of liquid through the lens is provided. The contact lens can be made by contacting a curable composition with a microfiber that is insoluble in the curable composition; curing the curable composition to provide a polymeric lens body with the microfiber embedded therein; and contacting the polymeric lens body with a solvent to dissolve the microfiber.

The invention provide a method for producing coated silicone hydrogel contact lenses in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner. The method is free of lens extraction step and comprises: curing thermally or actinically in a lens mold a polymerizable composition that comprises at least one hydrophilized polysiloxane vinylic crosslinker, hydroxyethyl methacrylate, C.sub.1-C.sub.2 alkoxyethyl (meth)acrylate, at least one free-radical initiator, and at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of water, propylene glycol, and/or a low-molecular weight polyethyleneglycol; and heating the cast-molded silicone hydrogel contact lens in an aqueous coating solution to form a coated silicone hydrogel contact lens comprising a bulk silicone hydrogel material and a layer of a crosslinked hydrophilic polymeric material that is covalently attached onto the bulk silicone hydrogel material. Resultant contact lenses are optically clear and wettable and have a relatively high oxygen permeability.

A contact lens comprising one or more microchannels for transport of liquid through the lens is provided. The contact lens can be made by contacting a curable composition with a microfiber that is insoluble in the curable composition; curing the curable composition to provide a polymeric lens body with the microfiber embedded therein; and contacting the polymeric lens body with a solvent to dissolve the microfiber.

A method for making an improved contact lens with the steps of providing a mold with a space between the top surface and a bottom surface, and positioning a mat in the space of the mold, providing a bead of liquid polymer of predetermined size at a predetermined location on the surface of the mat, pressing the bead of liquid polymer into the mat between the top surface and the bottom surface of the mold to form an optical zone framed by a mat peripheral zone, exposing the optical zone and the peripheral zone with U-V radiation to harden the optical zone into a composite improved contact lens, removing the cross-linked improved contact lens from the mold, processing the peripheral zone surrounding the optical zone to have a fenestration surface having holes, the holes being through holes with predetermined diameters selected to pass larger proteins, lipids, metabolites.

Described herein is a method for producing photochromic silicone hydrogel contact lenses in a relatively efficient and consistent manner from a polymerizable composition under a controlled thermal curing scheme. The main polymerizable components in the polymerizable composition are a high radical-reactive hydrophilic (meth)acrylamido monomer, a high radical-reactive siloxane-containing (meth)acrylamido monomer, and a polysiloxane vinylic crosslinker(s) free of low-reactive ethylenically unsaturated group as the main crosslinker. The thermal free radical initiator having a 10 hour half-life temperature (T.sub.10hλ) of from about 50° C. to about 90° C. The controlled thermal curing scheme includes maintaining a first curing temperature of from about (T.sub.10hλ−20)° C. to about T.sub.10hλ° C. for a first curing time and maintaining a second curing temperature of from about (T.sub.10hλ+10)° C. to about (T.sub.10hλ+35)° C. for a second curing time.

Provided are polymer compositions made by a process comprising: (a) providing a first reactive composition containing: (i) a polymerization initiator that is capable, upon a first activation, of forming two or more free radical groups, at least one of which is further activatable by subsequent activation; (ii) one or more ethylenically unsaturated compounds; and (iii) a crosslinker; (b) subjecting the first reactive composition to a first activation step such that the first reactive composition polymerizes therein to form a crosslinked substrate network containing a covalently bound activatable free radical initiator; (c) contacting the crosslinked substrate network with a grafting composition containing one or more ethylenically unsaturated compounds, wherein the contacting is conducted under conditions such that the grafting composition penetrates into the crosslinked substrate network; and (d) activating the covalently bound activatable free radical initiator at one or more selective regions of the crosslinked substrate network such that the grafting composition polymerizes with the crosslinked substrate network at the selective regions.

The invention is generally related to a method for producing coated silicone hydrogel contact lenses each of which has a hydrogel coating thereon and a relative high resistance to uptakes of polycationic antimicrobials as characterized by having a polyquaternium-1-uptake of less than 0.40 micrograms/lens. The hydrogel coating is formed by covalently attached a hydrophilic polymeric material onto a base coating of a polyanionic polymer on a SiHy contact lens. In this method, lower polyquaternium-1-uptake is achieved by using a rinse solution with a higher pH and/or a higher ionic strength (higher salt concentration) for rinsing a treated silicone hydrogel contact lens with a base coating of polyanionic polymer.

Provided are ophthalmic devices comprised of a reaction product of a composition comprising: (i) a crosslinked substrate network containing covalently bound activatable free radical initiators; and (ii) a grafting composition containing one or more ethylenically unsaturated compounds. Also provided are processes for making ophthalmic devices.

A contact lens has a core that is thick enough to accommodate a payload. The core has a base surface for mounting the contact lens to the sclera of the user's eye. It also provides mechanical integrity to carry the payload. The contact lens also includes an outer covering and an inner covering. Each covering is a thin layer of gas-permeable material shaped to form an air gap between the covering and the core. The two air gaps are connected by an air path that traverses the core. Oxygen from an outside environment passes through the gas-permeable outer covering to reach the outer air gap, through the air path to the inner air gap, and through the gas-permeable inner covering to reach the cornea of the wearer's eye.