preparation of hydrophobic acrylic foldable intraocular lens for cataract surgery

The aim of this study was to prepare a foldable intraocular lens (iol) from hydrophobic acrylates. for this purpose, methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate was molded and copolymerized in the presence of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate cross-linker. the prepared iol was subjected to chemical, thermal, and physical tests. fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that the copolymerization was complete and successful at the selected processing conditions. the results from differential scanning calorimetry indicated a glass transition temperature below the room temperature for the prepared iol. in addition, a hydrophobic nature was found for the iol surface after the static contact angle measurement. finally, an elongation at break of 157 % was recorded for the copolymer after tensile testing suggesting that the iol is flexible and foldable.