0000000000855907
AUTHOR
Evaristo Riande
New method to determine the true transmissibilities and permeabilities of oxygen in hydrogel membranes
In the present paper, an electrochemical method to obtain the true transmissibilities and permeabilities of hydrogels to oxygen is proposed. The method involves the measurement of the electric current arising from the flow of oxygen through a potentiostat cell integrated by a top water layer, the hydrogel membrane, and a thin water layer between the membrane and the cathode, where the oxygen is reduced. Varying the thickness of the top water layer, the true permeation characteristics of the hydrogels are obtained. A parallel study was carried out in which the transmissibilities and permeation coefficients were obtained from the variation of the steady state current with the thickness of the…
Oxygen permeability of hydrogel contact lenses with organosilicon moieties
Oxygen transport through two extended wear (day and night) hydrogel contact lenses that contain organosilicon moieties (balafilcon A and lotrafilcon A) was studied in the hydrate (hydrogel) and dry (xerogel) states. The water uptake increased the oxygen permeability [(Dk)app] and transmissibility [Dk/L(av)] coefficients of the dry materials by about 70%. The (Dk)app for the hydrated lenses was determined following the so-called stack procedure. The values obtained were 107 +/- 4 barrer for balafilcon A and 141 +/- 5 barrer for lotrafilcon A, about 5-10 times larger than those previously reported for conventional (without organosilicon moieties) extended wear hydrogels contact lenses. The Dk…
Biological oxygen apparent transmissibility of hydrogel contact lenses with and without organosilicon moieties.
The instrument oxygen transmissibility (IOT) of organosilicon hydrogels, measured by electrochemical procedures, is 5-10 times larger than that of conventional hydrogels. A method is described that allows the estimation of the oxygen tension at the lens-cornea interface for closed- and open-eyelids situations by combining the IOT of the hydrogels and corneal parameters such as corneal thickness, corneal permeability and oxygen flux across the cornea. From these results the biological oxygen apparent transmissibility (BOAT) is obtained, an important parameter which an multiplication with the pressure of oxygen on the external part of the lens gives the oxygen flux onto the cornea. Contact le…
Proton Transport in Membranes Prepared from Sulfonated Polystyrene-Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Blends
The preparation of new cation-exchange membranes from polymer composites based on poly(vinylidene fluoride), sulfonated polystyrene-co-divinylbenzene, and antimonic acid is reported. The thermal properties of the composites have been characterized by differential scanning calorimetry. Values of the transport number of protons in the membranes were obtained from the observable electric potential. It is defined from the potential difference measured between the electrodes reversible to one of the constituent ions in equilibrium with the system. When compared with Nafion cation-exchange membranes, the membranes described in this work exhibit interesting proton transport properties that could m…
Determination of the glass transition temperature of poly(cyclohexyl acrylate) from oxygen permeability measurements
Abstract The glass transition temperature ( T g ) of poly(cyclohexyl acrylate) (PCA) has been obtained from measurements of the oxygen permeability ( P = 0.60 barrers, T g = 23.5 ± 2.0°C) using a potentiostatic electrochemical sensor, and from the oxygen diffusion coefficient ( D = 0.12 × 10 −8 cm 2 s −1 , T g = 24.0 ± 1.8°C) by the time-lag method. A T g of 25 ± 1°C was found by differential scanning calorimetry and a T g of 25.0 ± 3.5°C was obtained from the specific volume by dilatometry. The fractional free volume ( v f ) at T g is 0.020 ± 0.002, which is slightly below (∼ 20%) most glassy polymers. A linear correlation has been observed between ln D and the reciprocal of v f , which su…