Soft contact lenses displaying superior on-eye comfort

Abstract

The present invention relates to soft contact lenses having an overall comfort preference of at least about 2 to 1 as compared to an Acuvue® contact lens and measured after one week of daily wear. The present invention further relates to a soft contact lens comprising an oxygen transmissibility greater than about 70 barrers/mm and physical properties suitable to provide wearer comfort over at least about 9 hours in at least about 80% of wearers, as measured in a randomized, double masked clinical study.

1 . A soft hydrogel contact lens having an overall comfort preference of at least about 2 to 1 as compared to an etafilcon A contact lens and measured after one week of daily wear, provided however, said contact lens is not coated with polyacrylic acid or poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide). 
   
   
       2 . A soft hydrogel contact lens having an overall comfort preference of at least about 3 to 1 as compared to an etafilcon A contact lens and measured after one week of daily wear provided however, said contact lens is not coated with polyacrylic acid or poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide). 
   
   
       3  . A soft hydrogel contact lens having an overall comfort preference of at least about 2 to 1 as compared to an Acuvue2® contact lens and measured after one week of daily wear, provided however, said contact lens is not coated with polyacrylic acid or poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide). 
   
   
       4 . A soft hydrogel contact lens having an end of day comfort preference of at least about 3 to 1 as compared to an etafilcon A contact lens and measured after one week of daily wear, provided however, said contact lens is not coated with polyacrylic acid or poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide). 
   
   
       5 . A soft hydrogel contact lens having an end of day comfort preference of at least about 3 to 1 as compared to an etafilcon A contact lens and measured after one week of daily wear, provided however, said contact lens is not coated with polyacrylic acid or poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide). 
   
   
       6 . (canceled) 
   
   
       7 . The contact lens of  claim 1  comprising an oxygen transmissibility is at least about 85 barrers/mm. 
   
   
       8 . The contact lens of  claim 1  further comprising an advancing dynamic contact angle of less than about 90°. 
   
   
       9 . The lens of  claim 1  further comprising a water content of at least about 30%. 
   
   
       10 . The lens of  claim 1  wherein said oxygen transmissibility is at least about 80 barrers/mm. 
   
   
       11 . The lens of  claim 1  wherein said oxygen transmissibility is at least about 90 barrers/mm. 
   
   
       12 . The lens of  claim 1  wherein said oxygen transmissibility is at least about 110 barrers/mm. 
   
   
       13 . The lens of  claim 1  wherein said oxygen transmissibility is at least about 140 barrers/mm. 
   
   
       14 . The lens of  claim 8  wherein said advancing dynamic contact angle is less than about 80°. 
   
   
       15 . The lens of  claim 8  wherein said advancing dynamic contact angle is less than about 70°. 
   
   
       16 . The lens of  claim 9  wherein said water content is between about 30% and about 50%. 
   
   
       17 . The lens of  claim 11  wherein said lens further comprises a water content between about 30% and about 50%. 
   
   
       18 . The lens of  claim 7  further comprising a tensile modulus of less than about 120 psi. 
   
   
       19 . The lens of  claim 7  further comprising a tensile modulus of less than about 100 psi. 
   
   
       20 . The lens of  claim 7  further comprising a tensile modulus of about 40 to about 100 psi. 
   
   
       21 . The lens of  claim 7  wherein said lens is formed from a silicone hydrogel. 
   
   
       22 . The lens of  claim 21  wherein said silicone hydrogel is formed from a reaction mixture comprising at least about 20 weight % silicone containing components. 
   
   
       23 . The lens of  claim 21  wherein said silicone hydrogel is formed from a reaction mixture comprising between about 20 and about 70 weight % silicone containing components. 
   
   
       24 . The lens of  claim 22  wherein said reaction mixture comprises at least one monofunctional silicone containing component and less than about 10 mmol multifunctional components/100 g reactive components. 
   
   
       25 . The lens of  claim 24  wherein said multifunctional components comprise less than about 7 mmol/100 g of the reactive components. 
   
   
       26 . The lens of  claim 24  wherein said monofunctional silicone containing component is selected from the group consisting of polysiloxanylalkyl(meth)acrylic monomers, mono-functional polydimethylsiloxanes and mixtures thereof. 
   
   
       27 . The lens of  claim 24  wherein said multifunctional components comprise multifunctional silicone containing components. 
   
   
       28 . The lens of  claim 27  wherein said multifunctional silicone containing components are selected from the group consisting of poly(organosiloxane) prepolymer, multifunctional silicone-containing vinyl carbonate and vinyl carbamate monomers, polyurethane macromers, and combinations thereof. 
   
   
       29 . The lens of  claim 22  wherein at least about 30 weight % of said silicone components comprise silicone containing compounds free from branching trimethylsiloxy groups. 
   
   
       30 . The lens of  claim 22  wherein at least about 60 weight % of said silicone components comprise silicone containing compounds free from branching trimethylsiloxy groups. 
   
   
       31 . A soft hydrogel contact lens having a modulus less than about 140 psi, oxygen transmissibility of at least about 70 barrers/mm, and at least one lubricious polymer comprising a water content of at least about 70% in an amount sufficient to provide an overall comfort preference of at least about 2 to 1 as compared to an etafilcon A contact lens, measured after one week of daily wear, provided however, said contact lens is not coated with polyacrylic acid or poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide). 
   
   
       32 . The contact lens of  claim 31  wherein said hydrophilic polymer comprises a water content of at least about 80%. 
   
   
       33 . A soft hydrogel contact lens comprising an oxygen transmissibility greater than about 80 barrers/mm and physical properties suitable to provide wearer comfort over a wear time of at least about 9 hours in at least about 80% of wearers, provided however, said contact lens is not coated with polyacrylic acid or poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide). 
   
   
       34 . The contact lens of  claim 33  wherein said wear time is in an environment with less than about 40% humidity. 
   
   
       35 . A method for the mitigation of ocular discomfort caused by contact lens wear comprising contacting the surface of the eye of a patient who experiences said discomfort with a soft hydrogel contact lens comprising a modulus less than about 140 psi, oxygen transmissibility of at least about 70 barrers/mm and a dynamic coefficient of friction of less than about 0.01 when measured at a sliding speed of 10 cm/second.