Direct Laser Interference Patterning of Ophthalmic Polymers

Información del proyecto

LasInPOP

Identificador del acuerdo de subvención: 795630

DOI

10.3030/795630

Proyecto finalizado el 31 Enero 2020

Fecha de la firma de la CE 20 Abril 2018

Fecha de inicio 1 Abril 2019

Fecha de finalización 31 Marzo 2021

Financiado con arreglo a

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Coste total

€ 171 460,80

Aportación de la UE

€ 171 460,80

Coordinado por

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET DRESDEN
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LasInPOP (Direct Laser Interference Patterning of Ophthalmic Polymers)

Período documentado: 2019-04-01 hasta 2021-03-31

Resumen del contexto y de los objetivos generales del proyecto

To date main photo-refractive techniques used to correct refractive errors use UV laser radiation to reshape corneal tissue through photo-ablative decomposition processes. These techniques are destructive, invasive, and irreversible and may entail postsurgical complications and secondary visual effects such as dry eye, irregular astigmatism, stromal haze, and corneal ectasia.
Refractive errors are the first cause of visual impairment and the second cause of visual loss worldwide. Uncorrected refractive errors were responsible for visual impairment in 101.2 million people and blindness in 6.8 million people in 2010.
The general aim of this project is to use Direct Laser Interference Patterning to be applied for refractive correction in ophthalmic polymers.

Trabajo realizado desde el comienzo del proyecto hasta el final del período abarcado por el informe y los principales resultados hasta la fecha

Direct Laser Interference Patterning (DLIP) was used to modify poly-hydroxyethyl-methacrylate (PHEMA) polymers and Safrofilcon-A hydrogels. These polymers are commonly used as soft contact lenses. The structuring process was carried out by using pulsed laser sources emitting at laser wavelengths in the UV-Visible range and pulse duration in the pico-second and nano-second range. Laser features and optical configuration was modified to achieve optimal structuring conditions. Also, these polymers were structured by using Direct Laser Writing (DLW) to compare both laser structuring techniques. Topography of the structured areas was evaluated by means of confocal microscopy, and micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to assess the microestructural and chemical properties of the laser-structured areas. Finally, optical characterization was carried out in the processed areas to evaluate the modification of the refractive index. DLIP was found to be more efficient, resulting in refractive index changes up to one order of magnitude higher than those obtained by using DLW. In addition, the processing time to produce the structured areas by using DLIP was nearly 3 orders of magnitude faster than using DLW. Hydration properties of DLIP-structured areas were evaluated by using static water contact angle (WCA) measurements with deionized water droplets. Hydration process was found to be similar to non-structured areas.
Results were disseminated in international conferences such as E-MRS Spring Meeting 2019, LPM 2020, and MSE 2020, and published in international journals such as Applied Sciences, Polymers, Proceedings of the LPM2020, and Journal of Laser Micro/Nanoengineering.

Avances que van más allá del estado de la técnica e impacto potencial esperado (incluida la repercusión socioeconómica y las implicaciones sociales más amplias del proyecto hasta la fecha)

DLIP was successfully applied to manufacture diffraction gratings on the surface of ophthalmic polymers. These results are the first step towards the development of a novel laser processing technique to be applied for the correction of refractive errors in ocular tissues.
Refractive index change achieved in the laser-structured areas ranged 1×10-2, one order of magnitude higher than those achieved by Direct Laser Writing (DLW). In addition, processing speed was found to be nearly three orders of magnitude faster than the reported by DLW.

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