An in vitro study of human lens epithelial cell adhesion to intraocular lenses with and without a fibronectin coating

PURPOSE: To demonstrate differences in human lens epithelial cell adhesion to different intraocular lens biomaterials in vitro and to determine whether these differences can be influenced by coating the intraocular lens surface with commercially available fibronectin. METHODS: A prospective laboratory-based study comparing human lens epithelial cell adhesion to silicone (n=18), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA; n=18), and acrylic (n=18) intraocular lenses in vitro. The three types of intraocular lenses were then coated with fibronectin: silicone (n=6), PMMA (n=6), and acrylic (n=6). The main outcome measure was the mean number of lens epithelial cells attached to each lens type after 24 hours of incubation. RESULTS: In the uncoated lens group, there was a significantly higher number of lens epithelial cells attached to the acrylic than to the silicone or PMMA lenses (P<0.001). Coating the lenses with fibronectin caused a significant increase in attachment of lens epithelial cells for all three lens types. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant difference in the degree of lens epithelial cell attachment to the various types of intraocular lenses in vitro. Cell attachment was more prominent in the acrylic lenses, but the fibronectin coating negated differences in lens type and caused a significant increase in cell attachment across all groups.