Towards improving the biocompatibility of prosthetic eyes

Abstract

Prosthetic eyes are currently manufactured using Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) which is not an ideal material because it is hydrophobic. While significant research has investigated the benefits of hydrophilic materials for contact lenses, no such research has been carried out on hydrophilic materials for prosthetic eyes until now. In this study, different derivatives of Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) monomer and methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer were grafted to PMMA using copolymerisation. The resulting matrixes were evaluated by water contact angle measurement, 24 h water absorption testing, and colour-difference measurement when exposed to ultraviolet light. The contact angle and water absorption results indicated that ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) grafted PMMA matrix had a better hydrophilic performance than the other matrixes tested. EGDMA is already a minor constituent of the PMMA matrix currently used for manufacturing prosthetic eyes but when the proportion of EGDMA monomer to MMA monomer used in the manufacturing process was increased to 50/50 the hydrophilicity of the matrix was significantly improved. EGDMA-grafted PMMA is inexpensive and comes as a liquid monomer that is easily mixed with the PMMA monomer that ocular prosthetists are familiar with. The mixture requires no special handling beyond the normal safety precautions that apply when using PMMA monomers. In-vitro testing shows that EGDMA-grafted PMMA significantly improves the wettability of PMMA currently used for the manufacture of prosthetic eyes and has the potential to significantly improve wearing comfort and socket health.

Effect of different disinfection protocols on the surface properties of CAD-CAM denture base materials

“…35 The reduced contact angle values may be because PMMA denture base materials, depending on their formulation, contain some types of glycol functional crosslinkers (for example, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate), 18 which were reported to provide water compatibility. 60 The exposure to cleaners may hinder this functionality from the interpenetration of the content of the cleaners and the physicochemical interaction in between functional monomers and ingredients of the DIS, disinfection; DP, disinfection protocol; GEL, denture cleanser gel; HC, sodium hypochlorite; SD, standard deviation; TAB, denture cleanser effervescent tablet. Significant differences among disinfection protocol groups of same material indicated with different uppercase superscript letters in same column for after disinfection.…”

The Use of Functional Biomaterials in Aesthetic and Functional Restoration in Orbital Surgery

“…This was shown to reduce contact angles significantly, improving wettability by 33% compared to polished PMMA prosthetic eyes. Thus, EGDMA-grafted PMMA may offer a practical solution for PMMA's hydrophobicity, surpassing other prosthetic solutions [162].…”

Biopolymeric Innovations in Ophthalmic Surgery: Enhancing Devices and Drug Delivery Systems

“…To address this, Pine et al investigated derivatives of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) grafted onto PMMA. Their findings indicated that ethylene glycol dimethylacrylate (EGDMA)-grafted PMMA significantly improved hydrophilicity, enhancing wettability by 33% compared to polished PMMA prostheses, thus potentially mitigating PMMA’s hydrophobic limitations in ocular prosthetics [ 51 ].…”