Hydrophobic modification of polymethyl methacrylate as intraocular lenses material to improve the cytocompatibility

•Allyl POSS–PMMA copolymer was synthesized by radical polymerization method.•The copolymer was made into film as IOL material with high transmittance.•The copolymer had a higher hydrophobicity and a higher roughness than PMMA film.•The copolymer had better cytocompatibility and cell morphology than pure PMMA film.

The development of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) after intraocular lenses (IOL) implantation for dealing with cataract is mainly due to the severe loss of the human lens epithelial cells (HLECs) during surgery contact. A novel poly (hedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-co-methyl methacrylate) copolymer (allyl POSS–PMMA) was synthesized by free radical polymerization method to promote the adhesion of HLECs. FT-IR and 1H NMR measurements indicated the existence of POSS cage in the product, which demonstrated the successful synthesis of allyl POSS–PMMA copolymer. Effect of allyl POSS in the hybrids on crystal structure, surface wettability and morphology, optical transmission, thermodynamic properties and cytocompatibility was investigated in detail. X-ray diffraction peaks at 2θ∼11° and 12° indicated that POSS molecules had aggregated and crystallized. Thermogravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimeter and optical transmission measurements confirmed that the allyl POSS–PMMA copolymer had high glass transition temperatures (more than 100 °C) and good transparency. The hydrophilicity and morphology of PMMA and copolymers surfaces were characterized by static water contact angle and atomic force microscopy. The results revealed that the surface of the allyl POSS–PMMA copolymer displayed higher hydrophobicity and higher roughness than that of pure PMMA. The surface biocompatibility was evaluated by morphology and activity measurement with HLECs in vitro. The results verified that the surface of allyl POSS–PMMA copolymer films had more HLECs adhesion and better spreading morphology than that of PMMA film.

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