CONTACT LENS AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR

Abstract

A contact lens and a manufacturing method thereof are proposed. The contact lens may include a resin composition containing an acrylic-based monomer and a Boswellia extract. By containing a Boswellia extract, the contact lens can prevent adherence of bacteria when worn on the user's eye and serve as an antibacterial agent to prevent bacterial infection, so it can secure a good contact fit and high antibacterial performance.

Claims

1. A contact lens comprising a resin composition containing an acrylic-based monomer and a Boswellia extract.

2. The contact lens according to claim 1, wherein the Boswellia extract comprises at least one of boswellic acids represented by the following chemical formulas: ##STR00007## ##STR00008##

3. The contact lens according to claim 1, wherein the acrylic-based monomer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid; methacrylic acid; acrylamide; C.sub.1-C.sub.15 saturated or unsaturated alkyl acrylate or methacrylate; C.sub.1-C.sub.15 hydroxyalkyl acrylate or methacrylate with one to three substituted hydroxyl moieties; and N,N-di(C.sub.1-C.sub.15 saturated or unsaturated alkyl)acrylamide.

4. The contact lens according to claim 1, wherein the resin composition further comprises at least one hydrophilic monomer selected from N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP).

5. The contact lens according to claim 1, wherein the resin composition comprises a silicone compound.

6. The contact lens according to claim 1, wherein the resin composition comprises at least one silicone compound selected from the group consisting of 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)ethyl methacrylate, tris(3-methacryloxypropyl)silane, 3-tris(trimethylsiloxy)silylpropyl methacrylate, and 4-methacryloxybutyl terminated polydimethyl siloxane.

7. A method for manufacturing a contact lens, comprising: preparing a resin composition comprising an acrylic-based monomer; mixing a Boswellia extract in the resin composition; and injecting the mixture into a mold to form a contact lens.

8. A method for manufacturing a contact lens, comprising: preparing a resin composition comprising an acrylic-based monomer; injecting the resin composition into a mold to pre-mold a contact lens; and applying a Boswellia extract to the pre-molded contact lens by coating.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the Boswellia extract comprises at least one of boswellic acids represented by the following chemical formulas: ##STR00009## ##STR00010##

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step of applying the Boswellia extract by coating is conducted using a Boswellia coating solution comprising 80 to 90 parts by weight of purified water, 0.1 to 2 parts by weight of a hydrophilic polymer, 1 to 5 parts by weight of polyethylene glycol, 0.01 to 5 parts by weight of a Boswellia extract, and 1 to 5 parts by weight of a pH adjusting agent.

11. A contact lens manufactured by the method according to claim 7.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the Boswellia extract comprises at least one of boswellic acids represented by the following chemical formulas: ##STR00011## ##STR00012##

Description

EXAMPLES

Example 1

[0097] 94 parts by weight of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 0.1 part by weight of methyl methacrylate (MMA), and 5 parts by weight of N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP) were mixed together, and 0.01 part by weight of a Boswellia extract. Then, 0.1 part by weight of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a cross-linking agent and 0.01 part by weight of izobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator were mixed in at 40° C.

[0098] The mixture was introduced into a mold and subjected to a polymerization reaction in an oven at 100° C. for 30 minutes and then a heat treatment. The contact lens sample thus obtained was hydrated with distilled water and stored in saline water.

Example 2

[0099] The procedures were performed in the same manner as described in Example 1, excepting that a boswellic acid (B-boswellic acid) was used in place of the Boswellia extract to fabricate a contact lens sample.

Examples 3 and 4

[0100] The procedures were performed in the same manner as described in Examples 1 and 2, excepting that the resin composition containing 90 parts by weight of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 1 part by weight of N,N-dimethylacrylamide and 20 parts by weight of 4-methacryloxybutyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane was used to fabricate a contact lens sample.

Example 5

[0101] The procedures were performed in the same manner as described in Example 1, excepting that the mixture was prepared without using a Boswellia extract. The mixture was introduced into a mold for pre-molding a contact lens, and a Boswellia coating solution was applied. The Boswellia coating solution was heated up to 90° C. and applied onto the pre-molded contact lens through dip coating for 20 minutes. Following the dip coating, the contact lens was subjected to a heat treatment, hydrated with distilled water and stored in saline water.

Comparative Example

[0102] The procedures were performed in the same manner as described in Example 1, excepting that the mixture was prepared without using a Boswellia extract. The mixture was introduced into a mold and subjected to a polymerization reaction in an oven at 100° C. for 30 minutes and then a treat treatment. The contact lens thus obtained was hydrated with distilled water and stored in saline water.

[0103] [Evaluations]

[0104] Visible Light Transmittance

[0105] The visible light transmittance was measured according to the ISO 18369-3 standards. All the contact lenses according to the examples exhibited transparency of 95% or above at wavelengths of visible light.

[0106] 2) Water Content

[0107] The water content was measured according to the ISO 18369-4 standards. The following equation was given to calculate the water content. The measurement of water content was carried out three times per sample, and the average value of the measurements was used. All the contact lenses according to the examples exhibited a water content of 35 to 65%.

Water content (%)=(Weight of hydrated lens−Weight of dried lens)/(Weight of hydrated lens)×100

[0108] 3) Contact Angle

[0109] The contact angle was measured according to the ISO 18369 standards. All the contact lenses according to the examples had a contact angle of 45° or below.

[0110] 4) Tensile Strength

[0111] The tensile strength was measured according to the ASTM D955 standards. All the contact lenses according to the examples had a tensile strength of 0.1 kgf or above.

[0112] 5) Oxygen Permeability

[0113] The contact lenses were put in a standard physiological saline solution (PBS), stored at room temperature (20° C±2° C.) for 24 hours, treated at the same temperature of the eye (35° C±0.5° C.) for at least 2 hours, and put into use for the tests. Among the contact lenses according to the examples, the hydrogel lens had an oxygen transmissibility of 10 to 50 Dk/t and the silicone-hydrogel lens had an oxygen transmissibility of 50 to 120 Dk/t.

[0114] 6) Antibacterial Capacity

[0115] The contact lenses according to the examples were measured in regards to the antibacterial capacity against Staphylococcus aureus. The control was the comparative example. In relation to the control, the contact lenses of the examples had the average number of colonies reduced by at least 80%, showing high antibacterial capacity.

[0116] Although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described, it is understood that the present invention should not be limited to these exemplary embodiments but various changes and modifications can be made by one ordinary skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the present invention as hereinafter claimed.

INDUSTRIAL AVAILABILITY

[0117] The contact lens according to an embodiment of the present invention can secure a good contact fit and high stability by containing a Boswellia extract.

[0118] The contact lens manufactured according to an embodiment of the present invention also contains a Boswellia extract, thereby preventing adherence of bacteria when worn on the user's eye.

[0119] The contact lens according to an embodiment of the present invention is coated with the Boswellia extract, which improves the slip performance of the contact's surface.