1P-11 : High water content hydrogel lens containing glycerol

Dry eye syndrome is a common problem among contact lens wearers. To overcome this, we prepared high water content lens for comfortable wearingwhich also increased the oxygen permeability of the lens. A series of water-swollen hydrogels were prepared from 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate, glycerol methacrylate, glycerol dimethacrylate and glycerol 1,3-diglycerolate diacrylate. Glycerol methacrylate was synthesized in 40% yield starting from glycerol and methacryloyl chloride. AIBN was used as an initiator for polymerization. Analyzing the water contents and contact angles of the hydrogels, we found that the content of glycerolincreased, water contents increased and contact angles decreased.