IOL INSERTION CARTRIDGE HAVING A SOFT, LUBRICIOUS COATING COMPRISING A URETHANE MATRIX POLYMER, A HYDROPHILIC LUBRICIOUS LUBRICANT AND A MULTI-FUNCTIONAL CROSS-LINKER

摘要

Soft, flexible highly lubricious coatings for polymeric IOL insertion cartridges that allow IOLs to be easily inserted through small bore cartridges suitable for use with small (less than 3mm) incisions are provided. These lubricious coatings allow IOLs to be inserted into the eye of a patient without the risk of lens damage or transfer of lubricants to the lens surface during implantation. Specifically, polymeric coatings comprising a matrix polymer having an equivalent weight greater than 5000 g/eq are used to form interpenetrating networks (IPN) on the surface of hydrophobic structural polymers. The IPNs thus formed entrap highly lubricious hydrophilic compounds within the IPN using multi-functional cross linkers.