Examining Adhesion of Lysozyme and Transferrin to Omafilcon A Contact Lenses

Examining Adhesion of Lysozyme and Transferrin to Omafilcon A Contact Lenses

Contact lenses induce the formation of human tears, which contain approximately 60 different proteins, when worn on the naked eye. We examined the adhesion of human transferrin to FDA Group II Omafilcon A contact lenses, fabricated from a biomimetic material whose interaction with tear proteins is not well understood. Furthermore, the consequences of protein accumulation are uncertain. Experimental procedure included incubation of Omafilcon A lenses in human transferrin for five days. Protein adhesion was determined by bicinchoninic acid colorimetry on a daily basis through spectrophotometry. As a result, transferrin adhered to the Omafilcon A lenses to a lesser extent (~10%) than it did to Alphafilcon A lenses, also considered as FDA Group II lenses. Our previous data indicate the same result is true for lysozyme adhesion with Omafilcon A lenses, adsorbing less lysozyme (~25%) than Alphafilcon A lenses. Levels of transferrin and lysozyme adhesion to Omafilcon A lenses are lower than their levels of adhesion to any other type of contact lenses in all four FDA groups, suggesting that Omafilcon A lenses are better able to resist protein adhesion than contact lenses fabricated from other materials.