Unlike conventional glasses, corneal contact lenses (CLs) can directly contact the surface of the tear film through the application of biopolymer materials, to achieve therapeutic and cosmetic purposes. Since the advent of polymethylmethacrylate, a material that has gained widespread use and attention, statistically, there are now more than 150 × 106 people around the world who wear corneal contact lenses. However, the associated complications caused by the interaction of contact lenses with the ocular surface, tear film, endogenous and environmental microorganisms, and components of the solution affect nearly one-third of the wearer population. The application of corneal contact lenses in correcting vision and myopia control has been widely recognized. With the development of related materials, corneal contact lenses are applied to the treatment of ocular surface diseases, including corneal bandage lenses, drug-loaded corneal contact lenses, biosensors, and other new products, while minimizing the side effects associated with CL wear. This paper summarized the development history and material properties of CLs, focused on the current main clinical applications and mechanisms, as well as clarified the possible complications in wearing therapeutic contact lenses and the direction for improvement in the future.
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September 2023
Review Article|
September 27 2023
Development of corneal contact lens materials and current clinical application of contact lenses: A review

Special Collection:
Special Topic Collection: Biointerface Science in China
Weichen Yuan
;
Weichen Yuan
(Writing – original draft)
1
Department of Ophthalmology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University
, Shenyang 110005, China
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Fangkun Zhao
;
Fangkun Zhao
(Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Ophthalmology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University
, Shenyang 110005, China
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Xiaoyu Liu
;
Xiaoyu Liu
(Writing – original draft)
2
Department of Ophthalmology, Dalian Third People’s Hospital Affiliated to Dalian Medical University
, Dalian 116033, China
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Jun Xu
Jun Xu
a)
(Conceptualization, Supervision)
2
Department of Ophthalmology, Dalian Third People’s Hospital Affiliated to Dalian Medical University
, Dalian 116033, China
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]. Tel.: +86-18609819566.
Search for other works by this author on:
Weichen Yuan
1
Fangkun Zhao
1
Xiaoyu Liu
2
Jun Xu
2,a)
1
Department of Ophthalmology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University
, Shenyang 110005, China
2
Department of Ophthalmology, Dalian Third People’s Hospital Affiliated to Dalian Medical University
, Dalian 116033, China
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]. Tel.: +86-18609819566.
Biointerphases 18, 050801 (2023)
Article history
Received:
February 27 2023
Accepted:
August 31 2023
Connected Content
A companion article has been published:
A clear vision for the future of contact lenses
Citation
Weichen Yuan, Fangkun Zhao, Xiaoyu Liu, Jun Xu; Development of corneal contact lens materials and current clinical application of contact lenses: A review. Biointerphases 1 September 2023; 18 (5): 050801. https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0002618
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