Polymerization and Preparation of Functional Ophthalmic Material Containing Carbon Nanoparticles

This research is conducted to create a functional hydrogel ophthalmic lens containing nanoparticles. Carbon nanoparticles and PEGMEMA are used as additives for the basic combination of HEMA, MA, and MMA, and the materials are copolymerized with EGDMA as the cross-linking agent and AIBN as the thermal initiator. The hydrogel lens is produced using a cast-mold method, and the materials are thermally polymerized at $100^{\circ}C$ for an hour. The polymerized lens sample is hydrated in a 0.9 % saline solution for 24 hours before the optical and physical characteristics of the lens are measured. The refractive index, water content, contact angle, light transmittance, and tensile strength are measured to evaluate the physical and optical characteristics of the hydrogel lens. The refractive index, water content, contact angle, UV-B light transmittance, UV-A light transmittance, visible light transmittance, tensile strength and breaking strength of the hydrogel lens polymer are 1.4019~1.4281, 43.05~51.18 %, $31.95{\sim}68.61^{\circ}$, 21.69~58.11 %, 35.59~84.26 %, 45.85~88.06 %, 0.1075~0.1649 kgf and 0.1520~0.2250 kgf, respectively. The results demonstrate an increase in refractive index, tensile strength and breaking strength and a decrease in contact angle and light transmittance. Furthermore, the visible light transmissibility is significantly increased at PEG 10 %. It is clear that this material can be used for high-performance ophthalmic lenses with wettability, ultraviolet ray blocking effect, and tensile strength.