Cleaning and disinfecting contact lenses with a protease and chl

Details Cleaning and disinfecting contact lenses with a protease and chl Cleaning and disinfecting contact lenses with a protease and chl

1997-02-12

1999-11-16

Naff, David M.

Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology

Carrier-bound or immobilized enzyme or microbial cell;...

424 9463, 424 9464, 424464, 435177, 435178, 435182, 435219, 435262, 435264, C12N 1100, C12N 950, A61K 3848, C06M 1600

Patent

active

059856297

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of cleaning, disinfecting and preserving contact lenses, a contact lens cleaning, disinfecting and preserving product, a tablet or capsule for cleaning, disinfecting and preserving contact lenses and the use of an enzyme inhibitor for cleaning, disinfecting and preserving contact lenses.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

To enjoy the advantages gained by wearing contact lenses it is necessary to carry out the time consuming and cumbersome task of cleaning and disinfection the contact lenses. The procedure differs depending on the type of contact lenses in question e.g. hard lenses or soft lenses.
In all cases, the contact lenses need to be cleaned and disinfected periodically, to avoid infection and discomfort for the wearer, in some cases every morning or evening.
When removed from the eyes the lenses must be stored in a preserving solution. Before wearing the lenses again they must be cleaned, disinfected and rinsed.
The cleaning operation is carried out to remove deposits and debris from the surface of the contact lenses. The cleaning effect is often obtained by treatment with enzymes such as proteases, capable of hydrolysing proteinaceous material to smaller water-soluble subunits.
Disinfection of the contact lenses prevents growth of bacteria on the contact lenses which might lead to infection of the eyes and making it impossible to wear contact lenses for a long period of time. Disinfecting agents such as hydrogen peroxide is widely used.
After the cleaning and/or disinfecting procedure the contact lenses need to be rinsed, to make sure that all enzymatic activities and/or disinfecting agent are removed, e.g. by using a physiological saline solution.
When the contact lenses are not worn the lenses need to be stored under sanitary conditions to secure that they are ready in a clean state for the next wear.
Further it is also important to make sure that the lenses are treated with care to secure that e.g. the shape of the contact lenses is maintained, staining of the lenses is prevented, an acceptable oxygen permeability of the lenses is maintained etc.
Soil deposits are found on all groups of contact lenses, but the easiness of removal differs among the groups. Hard contact lenses are easy to clean, due to only small amounts of soil deposited, and ease of removing soil by rubbing. Soft hydrophillic lenses are more prone to adsorption of soil which is difficult to remove. One reason is that hard rubbing and abrasives might damage the lens.
The major important soil deposits on contact lenses are proteins, lipid deposits and Jelly bumps, mucins, pigments and inorganic compounds.
Wedler (J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Vol. 11, p. 525-535, 1977) has identified tear proteins from extracts of contact lenses. Per lens was found 5-10 .mu.g protein, 1.0-1.2 .mu.g carbohydrates, 5-25 .mu.g phospholipids. Cholesterol and glucose were not detected. Albumin, lysozyme, IgG and .alpha..sub.1 -lipoprotein were found in the deposits.
The main component of Jelly bumps deposits are lipids (Bilbaut et al., Exp. Eys. Res., Vol. 43, p. 153-165, 1986). These are often seen on contact lenses with high water content, particularly extended wear contact lenses (Pohlzhofer, Deutsche Optiker Zeitung, Vol. 40, p.40-100, 1985 and Sack et al. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Vol. 28, p. 842-849, 1987).
A plethora of methods for removing deposits from contact lenses are known. Contact lenses are often cleaned with enzymes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,296 (Allergan) describes a method for cleaning contact lenses by the use of a protease.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,178 (Allergan) discloses a method for simultaneous cleaning and disinfection contact lenses with a protease in hydrogen peroxide. The cleaning is effected by protease and shown to be very efficient.
CA 1,146,881 (Bedding) points out a method for cleaning contact lenses using enzymes, where the cleaning procedure is followed by rinsing of the lenses, e.g. with saline, to remove active enzymes from the lens.
EP patent nr. 257

REFERENCES:
patent: 3910296 (1975-10-01), Karageozian et al.
patent: 4155868 (1979-05-01), Kaplan et al.
patent: 4670178 (1987-06-01), Huth et al.
STN International, CAPLUS accession No. 1992: 158988.
Powers, et. al., Res. Monogr. Cell Tissue Physiol. 12:55-152, 1986.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Cleaning and disinfecting contact lenses with a protease and chl does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Cleaning and disinfecting contact lenses with a protease and chl, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Cleaning and disinfecting contact lenses with a protease and chl will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1323418