The Chemistry of Contact Lenses

• silicon
• fluorine
• hydrogel
• oxygen
• hydrogen peroxide
• polymethylmethacrylate-hard lenses
• soft, flexible, plastics
• hydroxyethyl methacrylate-soft lenses

Main Chemicals, Compounds, Components

Soft and hard lenses

• -Soft
• these are made of a material called hydroxyethyl methacrylate which is a plastic hydrogel polymer that has a high water content
• -hard lenses
• these are made of a material called polymethylmethacrylate

Chemistry's Role

Contact lenses are made in a lab so they are not naturally occurring. There are a couple different ways to make them and one way is by a process called injection molding. This method is only used to make soft contact lenses. You start by heating the hydrogel contact material and putting it into a mold that will shape the contact as it dries. Another way to make is them is by a process called lathe cutting. This way takes more time but it is more precise and it’s for both soft and hard lenses. The main components of a contact lense is the material it is made of. You can use hydrogels for soft lenses and a plastic polymer for hard lenses.

Background Research

Contacts are medical devices used on the eyes and they are usually have a prescription in them so you would get them from your eye doctor. There are a couple different ways to make them and one way is that you put the materials that make up the contact into a mold and as it dries it take the curved shape of a contact.

Resources

http://www.aquimicadascoisas.org/en/?episodio=the-chemistry-of-contact-lenses

This site gives you a short description on what contacts are made of and how they work in the eye.

http://wwwcourses.sens.buffalo.edu/ce435/2001ZGu/Contact_Lens/ContactLensReport.htm

This site will give you a description on the history and manufacturing of contact lenses it also will talk about the science behind it.

http://www.eag.com/documents/optimizing-contact-lense-design-BN1503.pdf

On this website you will learn about the materials that are in the lense and what makes them comfortable to wear.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/cosmetic-treatments/contact-lens.htm

While looking at this website you will come across other uses for contacts other than clearing your vision.

http://ohsonline.com/articles/2005/10/contact-lenses-in-a-chemical-environment.aspx

Although contacts come in handy there are some safety issues with them and this site talks about ways to avoid them.

http://ohsonline.com/articles/2005/10/contact-lenses-in-a-chemical-environment.aspx

This site talks about contact solutions and keeping them clean and replenished

http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/faq/contact-materials.htm

Contacts are made up of something called hydrogels and they keep the contacts soft by absorbing huge amounts of water. You can get hydrogels that have different water amounts like low water, medium or high water content. There are also ionic and nonionic hydrogels.

http://www.eyehealthweb.com/what-contact-lenses-are-made-of/

http://coopervision.com/about-contacts/silicone-hydrogels-what%E2%80%99s-difference

Talks about silicone hydrogel lenses.

http://www.contamac.com/files/Contact%20Lenses%20The%20Material%20Benefits.pdf

The main components

http://contactlensupdate.com/2013/10/01/contact-lens-material-properties-that-influence-preservative-uptake/

components

http://www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/Inspirational/resources/3.1.1.pdf

how they work

http://www.aclens.com/How-Contact-Lenses-Are-Made-c233.html

how they are made

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