This invention relates to a method of marketing lens care solution. The invention further relates to a lens care demonstration kit and method for comparing competitive lens care solutions.
Contact lenses in wide use today fall into three general categories: hard lenses, formed from materials prepared by polymerization of acrylic esters, such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA); rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses formed from silicone (meth)acrylates and fluorosilicone methacrylates; and gel, hydrogel or like soft-type lenses. The hard and rigid-type lenses, because they are characterized by low vapor diffusion and absorb only minor amounts of aqueous fluids, have a lower tendency to bind ingredients used in contact lens care solutions. On the other hand, soft-type lenses have a greater tendency to the bind active ingredients used in contact lens care solutions.
Therefore, developing solutions designed for the treatment of soft-type lenses, whether made from the more traditional copolymers of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) or from the newer silicon-containing hydrogel materials, is especially challenging. During the normal course of wearing contact lenses, tear film and debris consisting of proteinaceous, oily, sebaceous, and related organic matter have a tendency to deposit and build-up on lens surfaces. Many factors influence deposit formation, including patient to patient variation, lens material, care regimen, and environmental factors. In general, relatively high water content ionic lens materials absorb more protein than relatively low water content or nonionic lens materials. As part of the routine care regimen, contact lenses must be cleaned to remove tear film deposits and debris. If deposits are not properly removed, both the wettability and optical clarity of the lenses are substantially reduced and wearer discomfort may result.
Further, contact lenses must also be disinfected to kill harmful microorganisms that may be present or grow on the lenses. Some of the most popular products for disinfecting lenses are multi-purpose solutions that can be used to clean, disinfect and wet contact lenses, a subset of these solutions further capable of being directly inserted or placed on the eye without rinsing. Certainly, the ability to use a single solution for contact lens care is an advantage. Such a solution, however, must be particularly gentle to the eye, since at least a portion of the solution will remain on the lens when inserted or placed on the eye and will thereby come into direct contact with ocular tissues.
Many lens care solutions are available on the market. Multipurpose solutions have been described in the literature, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,352, issued to Riedhammer et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,607, issued to Mowrey-McKee et al., each disclose such solutions. More generally, contact lens solutions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,555 to Huth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,431 to Nakagawa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,546 to Nakagawa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,442 to Yamada et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,788 to Kamiya et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,953 to Chowhan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,480 to Rontome et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,908 to Potini et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,884 to Huth, U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,074 to Park et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,262 to Desai et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,807 to Huth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,696 to Kimura et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,937 to Richard et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,279 to Spooner, U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,954 to Park et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,327 to Tsuzuki et al.
New compositions, including multipurpose lens care solutions, offer several key attributes relative to other competitive lens care solutions on the market. Sustained comfort, protein management including protein cleaning and stabilization, high disinfection efficacy, prevention of bacterial attachment, and lubrication are all desired.
It is important for the eye care professional to develop an understanding of the differences in competitive lens care solutions in order to offer the best lens care solution to the consumer.
It would be desirable to provide a method and demonstration kit to demonstrate lens lubricity.
It would also be desirable to provide a method and demonstration kit to demonstrate protein stabilization.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to the marketing and selling of lens care solutions, particularly multipurpose solutions, to the eye care professional. Provided is a demonstration kit that is both simple and portable. The demonstration kit includes samples of competitive lens care solutions and means for testing lubricity and protein stabilization. The demonstration kit provided herein may be used by a salesperson at tradeshows, sales meetings, and in doctors' offices to enable the eye care professional to understand the application and advantages of one lens care solution over competitive lens care solutions.
In another aspect, provided is a method of marketing lens care solution that includes the steps of: selecting two or more different lens care solutions, providing two or more ophthalmic lenses or polymeric substrates formed in the shape of a contact lens and combining the two or more different lens care solutions and two or more ophthalmic lenses to form a lens care solution demonstration kit.
In yet another aspect, provided is a method of marketing lens care solution comprising the steps of: selecting two or more different lens care solutions, combining each of the two or more different lens care solutions with a protein and a chemical denaturant to form two or more different combined solutions and forming a lens care solution demonstration kit that includes the two or more different combined solutions.
In still yet another aspect, provided is a method to determine the ability of a test solution to retard protein denaturing comprising the steps of: combining the test solution with a protein to form a combined solution, contacting the combined solution with a chemical denaturant drop wise, and visually inspecting the combined solution after each drop is added for formation of a white precipitate to determine the number of drops to denature the protein.
In a further aspect, provided is a demonstration kit for marketing lens care solutions, the kit including: a plurality of samples of lens care solution, at least two samples comprising a combination of protein and lens care solution, at least one sample of chemical denaturant, a plurality of closable vials, a plurality of ophthalmic lenses or polymeric substrates formed in the shape of a contact lens, each ophthalmic lens or polymeric substrate contained within a disk-shaped receptacle, and a carrying case.
In a still further aspect, provided is a demonstration kit for marketing lens care solutions that includes: a carrying case having pivotally connected interior portions, a pair of foam sections received within the interior portions, wherein at least a portion of one of the pair of foam sections is provided with a plurality of protuberances and at least a portion of the other of the pair of foam sections is provided with a plurality of recesses, the recesses including a plurality of bottle shaped recesses, a plurality of circular shaped recesses and a plurality of rectangular shaped recesses positioned about the carrying case, a plurality of threadably closable rigid vials arranged within one of the rectangular recesses, a plurality of squeezable containers arranged within the other of the rectangular recesses; a plurality of squeezable bottles for placement within the plurality of bottle shaped recesses, and a plurality of threadably closable disk-shaped receptacles.
During wear, contact lenses are susceptible to the accumulation of proteinaceous materials that may adhere to the surface of the lens. Such proteinaceous materials include, for example, lysozyme, lactoferrin, albumin, and mucoproteins, all constituents of lachrimal tears. Contact lenses that are repeatedly worn over an extended period of time must be cleaned to remove these materials as part of a routine care regimen.
In particular, if contact lenses are not properly cleaned, lysozyme, mucoproteins and the like can accumulate on the lenses and may lead to the lens wearer experiencing discomfort or a loss of visual acuity. The presence of proteinaceous deposits on the lens may also decrease gas permeability of the lenses or adversely affect the spectral characteristics of the lenses. Finally, proteinaceous deposits may interfere with the efficient sterilization of contact lenses.
A multipurpose lens care solution that provides sustained comfort, protein management, including protein stabilization, as well as lubrication, high disinfection efficacy and the prevention of bacterial attachment is desired by both eye care professionals and consumers. However, the wide variety of lens care solutions available commercially today makes it difficult for lens care professionals to recommend the appropriate solution best suited to their clients' needs without extensive consumer experience and feedback. In view thereof, it would be desirable to provide a demonstration and sales tool for comparing the lubricity and protein stabilization characteristics of various lens care solutions.
Disclosed herein is a method and demonstration kit capable of effectively comparing the protein stabilization of various lens care solutions. As may be appreciated, effective protein management is important to consumers and a key property of lens care solutions. Preventing proteins from denaturing and keeping them in their native state enables the proteins to function in their normal biochemical role and serves as an aid in reducing lens spoilage. This increases lens comfort for wearers.
Proteins exist in a three-dimensional configuration. This three-dimensional configuration allows proteins to carry out their biochemical activities. When a protein denatures, it loses its three-dimensional configuration and can no longer perform the necessary biochemical activities. Denatured protein is sometimes seen as a foreign body that may result in an immune response in a contact lens wearer. Denatured protein may also cause a contact lens to become cloudy and uncomfortable.
To demonstrate the protein management potential of a lens care solution, in particular the prevention of protein denaturation or precipitation, a protein, such as a lysozyme protein, is dissolved in a plurality of lens care solutions. For example, three different lens care solutions can be utilized, the lens care solution to be marketed and two other lens care solutions.
The lysozyme protein is a major component of the tear film and is involved in many functions in the eye. Perhaps, most importantly, the lysozyme protein protects the eye from infection caused by microbiological attack. Other suitable proteins for the demonstration kit of the present invention may include, but are not limited to, lactoferrin, albumin, and mucoproteins, all constituents of lachrimal tears.
The lysozyme protein is added to each lens care solution to form a solution having about 0.5% by weight lysozyme. About 10 drops (0.5 ml) of the combined solutions are added to three separate closable glass vials. A chemical denaturant, such as urea, is then brought into contact, drop wise, with each of the solutions being compared. The urea denaturant may be provided as a 5.0%, by weight, aqueous solution. Other suitable chemical denaturants for the demonstration kit of the present invention include, but are not limited to, trichloroacetic acid and the like. The chemical denaturant may also include sodium lauryl sulfate, to reduce the time required for the denatuation process. This is particularly advantageous when one considers that a person conducting a demonstration may have no more than ten minutes with the customer or doctor.
As may be appreciated, the greater the number of drops of chemical denaturant that can be added to the solution before the lysozyme protein becomes denatured, the greater the protection against protein denaturation provided by the lens care solution. Some solutions can require as little as a single drop of the urea solution to denature the lysozyme protein, while other solutions may require from about 8 to about 12 drops to denature a lysozyme protein. This test may be repeated several times.
When a protein becomes denatured, it can act as an irritant in the eye. The protein denaturation assay provided herein does not employ elevated temperatures to denature the protein; rather, a chemical denaturant, such as urea, is used to denature the protein. The test is carried out in the absence of heat, i.e. without a heating step. The test is performed at room temperature (between about 18 and about 30° C.). As may be appreciated, among the advantages of the protein denaturation assay disclosed herein are the simplicity and portability of the assay.
Also provided herein is a method and demonstration kit capable of comparing the lubricity of contact lenses, for example, in side-by-side demonstrations. The demonstration kit provided herein includes a plurality of large “elephant” demonstration lenses for use in the side-by-side comparison of lubricity. An elephant lens is a relatively large polymeric substrate having the shape of a contact lens. For use in the demonstration kit disclosed herein, the elephant lens may have a diameter of about three inches and a thickness of about 0.05 to about 0.07 inches, although other dimensions may be utilized as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Advantageously, the elephant lenses are formed to have a convex profile to better simulate the appearance of a typical contact lens. The elephant lens may be made of any suitable lens material, with hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) being particularly preferred. As an alternative to the elephant lenses disclosed herein, conventional consumer ophthalmic lenses may be substituted for the elephant lenses. As may be appreciated by those skilled in the art, such conventional consumer ophthalmic lenses include hard lenses formed from materials prepared by polymerization of acrylic esters, such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses formed from silicone (meth)acrylates and fluorosilicone methacrylates, and gel, hydrogel or like soft-type lenses.
In conducting the side-by-side comparisons contemplated herein, each elephant lens or ophthalmic lens is soaked in a different lens care solution, for example, in the lens care solution being marketed and in another commercial lens care solution. The lenses are soaked for a period of at least four hours and may be soaked overnight or as otherwise directed by the manufacturer's regimen. After soaking, each lens is removed and handled simultaneously and may be rubbed between the thumb and forefinger to determine which lens is more lubricious. The more lubricious the lens, the smoother and slipperier the lens feels. As may be appreciated by those skilled in the art, lubricity is a result of the lens care solution binding to the surface of the lens and attracting and retaining moisture, making the lens more comfortable.
The demonstration kit provided herein may be used in conjunction with lens care solutions for all contact lenses such as: (1) hard lenses formed from materials prepared by polymerization of acrylic esters, such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), (2) rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses formed from silicone acrylates and fluorosilicone methacrylates, and (3) gel, hydrogel or soft type lenses made of polymerized hydrophilic or hydrophobic monomers, such as 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA).
Suitable multipurpose lens care solutions include, but are not limited to, those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,820,352; 5,604,189; 5,858,937; 6,702,983; and 6,805,836; U.S. application Ser. Nos. 10/462,165; 10/724,679; 10/666,771; and 10/799,522; and U.S. Publication Nos. 2005/0119221; 2005/0119141; 2004/0186028; 2004/0115270 and 2004/0063591.
Suitable comparative lens care solutions include, but are not limited to, those lens care solutions described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,037,647; 5,393,491; 5,422,073; 5,500,186; 5,573,726; 5,593,637; 5,631,005; 5,756,045; 5,817,277; 6,063,745; 6,143,799; 6,289,906; 6,319,464; 6,319,883; 6,365,636; 6,503,497; and 6,482,781.
Referring now to
Second interior portion 30 contains a foam section 32 having dimensions approximating those of second interior portion 30 so as to enable a press-fit of foam section 32 therein. Foam section 32 is provided with a plurality of recesses, each recess being sized for positionally retaining a component part of the demonstration kit 10. The plurality of recesses includes a pair of substantially circular recesses 40, two substantially rectangular recesses 42 and 44 and a pair of bottle-shaped recesses 46. The pair of circular recesses 40 and the pair of bottle shaped recesses 46 may be positioned symmetrically about the center line C--C of the carrying case 12, as shown. Rectangular recess 42 and rectangular recess 44 may each be positioned to be aligned symmetrically on the center line C--C of carrying case 12.
Referring to
The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the following non-limiting examples.
Two 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) elephant demonstration lenses, having a diameter of about three inches and a thickness of about 0.06 inches, are conditioned with different contact lens care solutions. One lens is soaked in lens care Solution A, which is commercially available as ReNu® with MoistureLoc™ (available from Bausch & Lomb of Rochester, N.Y.). Solution A employs a combination of polyquaternium-10 (quaternized N,N-dimethylamino groups), poloxamer 407 (polyoxyethylene, polyoxypropylene block polymers), and Tetronic® 1107 (ethylene diamine adducts of polyoxyethylene, polyoxypropylene block polymers), available from BASF Corporation of Mt. Olive, N.J.). The other lens is soaked in lens care Solution B, which is commercially available as Opti-Free® Express® (available from Alcon Laboratories of Fort Worth, Tex.). The lenses are soaked for at least 4 hours.
The demonstration lenses are removed from the solutions and felt simultaneously by hand to determine which lens is more lubricious. The more lubricious lens will exhibit a smoother and more slippery feel. The lens soaked in lens care Solution A is clearly more lubricious than the lens soaked in lens care Solution B when evaluated by touch. The lens soaked in lens care Solution A feels more smooth and slippery than the lens soaked in lens care Solution B.
Lysozyme protein is dissolved in three different commercially-available multipurpose lens care solutions to form a combined solution having about 0.5%, by weight, lysozyme. Lens care Solution A is commercially available ReNu® with MoistureLoc™ (Bausch & Lomb of Rochester, N.Y.) and employs a combination of polyquaternium-10 (quaternized N,N-dimethylamino groups), poloxamer 407 (polyoxyethylene, polyoxypropylene block polymers), and Tetronic® 1107 (ethylene diamine adducts of polyoxyethylene, polyoxypropylene block polymers), available from BASF Corporation of Mt. Olive, N.J.). Lens care Solution B is commercially available Opti-Free® Express®, available from Alcon Laboratories of Fort Worth, Tex. Lens care Solution C is commercially available Complete® Comfort Plus™, available from Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (AMO) of Santa Ana, Calif.
About 10 drops of each of the combined solutions are added to three separate 10 ml glass vials. A 5.0%, by weight, urea in water chemical denaturant solution, having 1.5% by weight sodium lauryl sulfate, is then added drop wise to each vial.
The protein assay is performed in the absence of adding heat (at room temperature). After just 1 drop, the lysozyme protein is denatured in the vials containing lens care Solutions B and C, as evidenced by the formation of a white precipitate. Ten drops are added to the vial containing lens care Solution A before the lysozyme protein is denatured and a white precipitate forms. As may be appreciated by those skilled in the art, lens care Solution A prevents protein denaturation better than lens care Solutions B and C.
All documents described herein are incorporated by reference herein, including any priority documents and/or testing procedures. As is apparent from the foregoing general description and the specific embodiments, while forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited thereby.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/714,974, filed Sep. 8, 2005.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60714974 | Sep 2005 | US |