PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of four contemporary lens care solutions on total protein, total lysozyme, and active lysozyme extracted from three contact lens materials.
METHODS: Adapted contact lens wearers were recruited at three sites, and all subjects were randomly assigned to daily wear of either etafilcon A, galyfilcon A, or senofilcon A for 2 weeks. Four lens care solutions (Biotrue, OPTI-FREE PureMoist, RevitaLens OcuTec, and ClearCare) were used by each subject in random order with a new pair of lenses after a washout period between solutions of at least 4 days. After 2 weeks of daily wear, contact lenses were collected for analysis. Proteins were extracted from a subset of contact lenses (n = 568) and total protein, total lysozyme, and lysozyme activity were quantified using a modified Bradford assay, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and a micrococcal assay, respectively.
RESULTS: Higher levels of total protein were extracted from etafilcon A when used with Biotrue compared to other solutions (p = 0.0001). There were higher levels of total lysozyme extracted from galyfilcon A lenses when used with PureMoist than with Biotrue or ClearCare (p < 0.006). Higher total lysozyme was extracted from senofilcon A when used with RevitaLens OcuTec compared to Biotrue (p = 0.002). Lower lysozyme activity was recovered from senofilcon A lenses with RevitaLens OcuTec when compared to all other care solutions (all p < 0.004). When Biotrue, PureMoist, or RevitaLens OcuTec were used, higher total lysozyme was extracted from galyfilcon A compared to senofilcon A (p < 0.01). When RevitaLens OcuTec was used, higher levels of active lysozyme were extracted from galyfilcon A compared to senofilcon A (p = 0.02).
CONCLUSIONS: The ability of lens care solutions to remove protein from lenses varies depending upon the care solution composition and also the polymeric make-up of the contact lens material.