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Bacteria adheres most to silicone, least to hydrogel IOLs, animal study finds
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LYON, France — Bacteria adhered most to silicone IOLs and least to hydrogel IOLs in an animal model of endophthalmitis, researchers here said.
Laurent Kodjikian, MD, and colleagues here at the Herriot Hospital infected IOLs with a strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis. The IOLs were subsequently implanted in 90 pigs. The IOL materials tested in the study were PMMA, heparinized PMMA, silicone, hydrophobic acrylic and hydrogel. The pigs were killed at 24 hours, 72 hours and 1 week after IOL implantation.
The extent of bacterial binding was found to range in increasing order from hydrogel, to fluorine PMMA, to hydrophobic acrylic, to heparinized PMMA, to silicone polymer. A comparison of pairs of materials showed statistically significant differences, except between hydrogel and fluorine PMMA.
Bacterial adherence to the implant surface of an IOL depends upon the hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity of the biomaterial, and is also affected by the nature of the surrounding medium, according to the study authors.
The study is published in the December issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.