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  • Microengineered poly(HEMA) hydrogels for wearable contact lens biosensing.

Microengineered poly(HEMA) hydrogels for wearable contact lens biosensing.

Lab on a chip (2020-10-14)
Yihang Chen, Shiming Zhang, Qingyu Cui, Jiahua Ni, Xiaochen Wang, Xuanbing Cheng, Halima Alem, Peyton Tebon, Chun Xu, Changliang Guo, Rohollah Nasiri, Rosalia Moreddu, Ali K Yetisen, Samad Ahadian, Nureddin Ashammakhi, Sam Emaminejad, Vadim Jucaud, Mehmet R Dokmeci, Ali Khademhosseini
ABSTRACT

Microchannels in hydrogels play an essential role in enabling a smart contact lens. However, microchannels have rarely been created in commercial hydrogel contact lenses due to their sensitivity to conventional microfabrication techniques. Here, we report the fabrication of microchannels in poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(HEMA)) hydrogels that are used in commercial contact lenses with a three-dimensional (3D) printed mold. We investigated the corresponding capillary flow behaviors in these microchannels. We observed different capillary flow regimes in these microchannels, depending on their hydration level. In particular, we found that a peristaltic pressure could reinstate flow in a dehydrated channel, indicating that the motion of eye-blinking may help tears flow in a microchannel-containing contact lens. Colorimetric pH and electrochemical Na+ sensing capabilities were demonstrated in these microchannels. This work paves the way for the development of microengineered poly(HEMA) hydrogels for various biomedical applications such as eye-care and wearable biosensing.

MATERIALS
Product Number
Brand
Product Description

Sigma-Aldrich
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) sebacate, ≥97.0% (GC)
Sigma-Aldrich
Sodium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate
Supelco
Sodium ionophore X, Selectophore, function tested