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Microengineered poly(HEMA) hydrogels for wearable contact lens biosensing

Microengineered poly(HEMA) hydrogels for wearable contact lens biosensing
Microengineered poly(HEMA) hydrogels for wearable contact lens biosensing

Microchannels in hydrogels play an essential role in enabling a smart contact lens. However, microchannels have rarely been created in commercial hydrogel contact lenses due to their sensitivity to conventional microfabrication techniques. Here, we report the fabrication of microchannels in poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(HEMA)) hydrogels that are used in commercial contact lenses with a three-dimensional (3D) printed mold. We investigated the corresponding capillary flow behaviors in these microchannels. We observed different capillary flow regimes in these microchannels, depending on their hydration level. In particular, we found that a peristaltic pressure could reinstate flow in a dehydrated channel, indicating that the motion of eye-blinking may help tears flow in a microchannel-containing contact lens. Colorimetric pH and electrochemical Na+ sensing capabilities were demonstrated in these microchannels. This work paves the way for the development of microengineered poly(HEMA) hydrogels for various biomedical applications such as eye-care and wearable biosensing.

1473-0197
4205-4214
Chen, Yihang
c8abe00f-1d25-4e71-ad91-521448d4f66d
Zhang, Shiming
552b4ccb-f177-4143-af78-a7284383bf5c
Cui, Qingyu
adb801ac-2124-46ee-8c44-62751a82e0ab
Ni, Jiahua
20d98269-3dac-4a94-8b33-70376aa61086
Wang, Xiaochen
04efb902-1e02-4887-b8ee-a66a751ec8d4
Cheng, Xuanbing
10c235fc-23e3-40e3-8ed9-2f27947b9877
Alem, Halima
49f903d9-1d21-4e9c-9066-99589c9f8ada
Tebon, Peyton
776f5370-30bf-4ff9-86cd-c38153b04b9d
Xu, Chun
f321e43c-a528-4a0a-ac8a-85a6e00c7def
Guo, Changliang
d398afa6-0081-43f3-97d3-80e22229a064
Nasiri, Rohollah
84fe0b8b-da5d-4433-86c6-7795da972491
Moreddu, Rosalia
8a5d77bc-dac4-4966-baa3-be26c5eec1ef
Yetisen, Ali K.
73141f83-3104-470a-bbf5-a7b42d9420a1
Ahadian, Samad
340a92e2-b950-4cd1-b8b9-5365310fc86e
Ashammakhi, Nureddin
7b5d80ef-c5b6-4164-9db1-2facc0ff00e8
Emaminejad, Sam
23c70d2b-6a56-45cc-b4a0-d5034828df32
Jucaud, Vadim
f6240cda-7bba-496a-953d-15131093fcb6
Dokmeci, Mehmet R.
f6794431-29c0-420d-97a5-1c7ea9c07059
Khademhosseini, Ali
3bb38019-dd19-43a9-922e-8661733d8337
Chen, Yihang
c8abe00f-1d25-4e71-ad91-521448d4f66d
Zhang, Shiming
552b4ccb-f177-4143-af78-a7284383bf5c
Cui, Qingyu
adb801ac-2124-46ee-8c44-62751a82e0ab
Ni, Jiahua
20d98269-3dac-4a94-8b33-70376aa61086
Wang, Xiaochen
04efb902-1e02-4887-b8ee-a66a751ec8d4
Cheng, Xuanbing
10c235fc-23e3-40e3-8ed9-2f27947b9877
Alem, Halima
49f903d9-1d21-4e9c-9066-99589c9f8ada
Tebon, Peyton
776f5370-30bf-4ff9-86cd-c38153b04b9d
Xu, Chun
f321e43c-a528-4a0a-ac8a-85a6e00c7def
Guo, Changliang
d398afa6-0081-43f3-97d3-80e22229a064
Nasiri, Rohollah
84fe0b8b-da5d-4433-86c6-7795da972491
Moreddu, Rosalia
8a5d77bc-dac4-4966-baa3-be26c5eec1ef
Yetisen, Ali K.
73141f83-3104-470a-bbf5-a7b42d9420a1
Ahadian, Samad
340a92e2-b950-4cd1-b8b9-5365310fc86e
Ashammakhi, Nureddin
7b5d80ef-c5b6-4164-9db1-2facc0ff00e8
Emaminejad, Sam
23c70d2b-6a56-45cc-b4a0-d5034828df32
Jucaud, Vadim
f6240cda-7bba-496a-953d-15131093fcb6
Dokmeci, Mehmet R.
f6794431-29c0-420d-97a5-1c7ea9c07059
Khademhosseini, Ali
3bb38019-dd19-43a9-922e-8661733d8337

Chen, Yihang, Zhang, Shiming, Cui, Qingyu, Ni, Jiahua, Wang, Xiaochen, Cheng, Xuanbing, Alem, Halima, Tebon, Peyton, Xu, Chun, Guo, Changliang, Nasiri, Rohollah, Moreddu, Rosalia, Yetisen, Ali K., Ahadian, Samad, Ashammakhi, Nureddin, Emaminejad, Sam, Jucaud, Vadim, Dokmeci, Mehmet R. and Khademhosseini, Ali (2020) Microengineered poly(HEMA) hydrogels for wearable contact lens biosensing. Lab on a Chip, 20 (22), 4205-4214. (doi:10.1039/d0lc00446d).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Microchannels in hydrogels play an essential role in enabling a smart contact lens. However, microchannels have rarely been created in commercial hydrogel contact lenses due to their sensitivity to conventional microfabrication techniques. Here, we report the fabrication of microchannels in poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(HEMA)) hydrogels that are used in commercial contact lenses with a three-dimensional (3D) printed mold. We investigated the corresponding capillary flow behaviors in these microchannels. We observed different capillary flow regimes in these microchannels, depending on their hydration level. In particular, we found that a peristaltic pressure could reinstate flow in a dehydrated channel, indicating that the motion of eye-blinking may help tears flow in a microchannel-containing contact lens. Colorimetric pH and electrochemical Na+ sensing capabilities were demonstrated in these microchannels. This work paves the way for the development of microengineered poly(HEMA) hydrogels for various biomedical applications such as eye-care and wearable biosensing.

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More information

Published date: 21 November 2020
Additional Information: Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 503365
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/503365
ISSN: 1473-0197
PURE UUID: bf6f7521-a122-47b8-9240-c558b7443a25
ORCID for Rosalia Moreddu: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0332-1606

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 29 Jul 2025 17:04
Last modified: 30 Jul 2025 02:14

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Contributors

Author: Yihang Chen
Author: Shiming Zhang
Author: Qingyu Cui
Author: Jiahua Ni
Author: Xiaochen Wang
Author: Xuanbing Cheng
Author: Halima Alem
Author: Peyton Tebon
Author: Chun Xu
Author: Changliang Guo
Author: Rohollah Nasiri
Author: Rosalia Moreddu ORCID iD
Author: Ali K. Yetisen
Author: Samad Ahadian
Author: Nureddin Ashammakhi
Author: Sam Emaminejad
Author: Vadim Jucaud
Author: Mehmet R. Dokmeci
Author: Ali Khademhosseini

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