Effect of PEG-diacrylate as Crosslinking agent on Hardness of RGP Ocular Lenses

This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of a series of rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses crosslinked with poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA). PEGDA is synthesized by esterification of acrylic acid and PEG (Mw 200) and characterized by FT-IR and H NMR techniques. EGDMA and triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) appeared to be the two most suitable crosslinking agents for bulk polymerization of acrylate based monomers. In this work, influence of these two crosslinking agents PEGDA and TEGDMA (with different molar ratios) on hardness and water content of prepared rigid gas permeable ocular lenses was investigated. The lenses exhibited improved hardness as well as higher values of water content than controlled samples. Thus, the essay provides a facile method of developing materials with improved hardness and hydrophilicity, particularly for rigid gas permeable ocular lenses