• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.53-68
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• 2004

Protein deposit buildup on soft contact lenses(SCLs) is responsible for discomfort, optical defects and is even damaging to the eye. To better understand protein deposit formation on SCL, we investigated the pattern of protein attachment on patient-worn SCLs and the effect of the protein on the contact angle of SCLs and the transmission of visible light. This study used data from a clinical trial where subjects wore either daily-wear SCL(etafilcon A, N=40) for various period up to 14 days, or extended-wear SCL(balafilcon A, N=40) for 8 h day or night. The adsorption of protein in daily-wear SCLs was significantly increased in patient-worn time-dependent manner although the lenses were cleaned everyday by using the multi-purpose SCL solution. After 2 weeks wearing, the protein on the SCL influenced the contact angle of the lenses. Furthermore, the transmission of visible light of the lenses decreased up to almost 7%. Extended-wear SCLs worn during the closed eye condition were found to deposit significantly more protein than SCLs worn during the open eye condition. The amounts of protein adsorbed both after daily SCL wear and after overnight SCL wear were not affected the contact angle and the transmission of visible light of the lenses. The protein deposit buildup on SCL related to the corneal temperature and pH of tear fluid.