Disposable contact lenses and bacterial adhesion. In vitro comparison between ionic/high-water-content and non-ionic/low-water-content lenses

An in vitro quantitative study of the adhesion of a Staphylococcus aureus strain to two types of disposable contact lenses has been carried out. The first type was an ionic/high-water-content (I-HWC) lens (42% Etafilcon A, 58% water) and the second was a non-ionic/low-water-content (NI-LWC) lens (61.4% poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), 38.6% water). Adhesion to the two lens types was evaluated both in basic conditions and after treatment with lysozyme. The results showed that I-HWC lenses are more prone to Staphylococcus aureus adhesion than NI-LWC lenses, both untreated (+15.4%) and treated with lysozyme (+20.5%). Lysozyme increased bacterial adhesion by 30.5% on the lenses with lower water content, and by 36.3% on those with higher water content.