The development of silicone hydrogel contact lenses

Soft contact lenses are very common and everyone is happy to choose the type of contact lenses, among which, the proportion of silicone hydrogel contact lenses is not large, but its development momentum is very strong. Today, we will talk about the development of silicone hydrogel contact lenses.

Silicone hydrogel and hydrogel are the two major materials of soft contact lenses, and it can be said that hydrogel is the basis of silicone hydrogel. Silicon hydrogels and hydrogels are both hydrophilic organic polymer materials. Silicon molecules added to the original hydrogel materials can help construct the structure of the two-phase material, and the silicon molecules bear the main role of oxygen transport.

 The biggest characteristic of silicon hydrogel is its strong oxygen permeability, which is at least five times higher than that of hydrogel, so as to achieve the wearing demand of both high water content and high oxygen permeability, which can greatly reduce a series of eye problems such as redness, swelling and inflammation caused by corneal hypoxia. Silicon hydrogels inherit the advantages of hydrogels, while solving the limit of water content, protecting the cornea to breathe freely, maintaining the normal metabolism of the eye, is the best choice for contact lens wearers.

Of course, silicone hydrogel contact lenses are not without their drawbacks. In general, contact lenses made of silicon hydrogel belong to the more high-end type of contact lenses, and they are short-cycle abandoned lenses, and the cost of long-term use is relatively large. In addition, silicon molecules increase the hardness of the lens will be slightly harder than the hydrogel material, which may be more obvious for sensitive eyes.

At present, although silicon hydrogel contact lenses still have some shortcomings, they have achieved a combination of high oxygen penetration and high comfort, so it is bound to become a mainstream product in the future.