Optical and vibrational properties of phosphorylcholine-based contact lenses—Experimental and theoretical investigations

The Raman, MIR and UV-vis spectroscopy have been used to characterize Omafilcon A material constructing the one of the Proclear family contact lenses. The Omafilcon A is hydrogel material composed of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (PC) polymers crosslinked with ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA). Vibrational and electronic properties of the Omafilcon A material were also investigated by quantum chemical calculations. Experimentally obtained Raman, MIR and optical spectra were compared to the theoretical ones calculated applying RHF and DFT methodology. The quantum chemical calculations were performed for isolated monomers of lenses compounds as well as for their dimers and trimers to elucidate the effect of Omafilcon A polymerization and the role of an individual components.