Study on the Wettability of Ophthalmic Hydrogel Lens Containing Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles with Wettability Measurement Method

For manufacturing ophthalmic lens, HEMA, PVP, Bis-GMA, GO nanoparticles and EGDMA (ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate) were copolymerized in the presence of AIBN as an initiator. After polymerization, the physical properties such as water content, refractive index, contact angle of produced hydrogel lenses were measured. As a result, when GO nanoparticles were added to the Ref. and Ref.-B samples, the wettability increased due to the hydrogen bonding between the GO and the water molecules, which were distributed on the surface. In the case of Ref.-P containing PVP, the probability of hydrogen bonding with the water molecules on the surface was lowered as hydrogen bonding was induced by the nitrogen of PVP and the carboxyl group of the GO nanoparticles; thus, the wettability somewhat decreased. Therefore, GO, which has excellent abrasion resistance, is considered useful as a material for ophthalmic lenses with excellent wettability and strength when added to the general hydrogel lens materials other than hydrophilic materials like PVP.