Effect Of Temperature On A Protein-Removing Contact Lens Solution

1. Set up equipment (see ​Table 5​).
2. Prepare each contact lens solution in separate 50ml beakers.
3. Prepare pieces of photographic film of the same size.
   • Using a ruler and a square of film, cut 1 cm ² squares.
   Water baths should be heated to different degrees at various intervals. Place solutions in the water bath to allow them to reach the same temperature as the water bath.
4. Place the film in one solution once it reaches the same temperature as a water bath (the one at a higher temperature). Pour another solution into the test tube after placing the funnel over it. After securing the test tube with a bung and shaking it, the timer on the stopwatch is set to begin as soon as the solutions are blended.
5. Measure the time taken for the photographic film to turn clear.
6. Repeat at different temperatures.
7. Analyze results.

Figure 1: Experimental Setup

• There is a period of time between when the solutions are mixed and when I start the stopwatch, which can contribute to systematic error.
• The solution gradually became more opaque, and as a result, it was harder to see the film and determine if it had gone clear.
  • This may cause my results to be erroneous, as they are not fully accurate.
• Sometimes, when I took the measurement for time, the film was already clear. This means that my measurement will be inaccurate.
• I occasionally found myself shaking the test container, which is not recommended when using this protein remover with contact lenses. My results might have been impacted by this.
• For some temperatures, the data I obtained was variable.
  • This is why I conducted a few more tests at 60°C.
• The temperatures of the solutions in the identical water bath were marginally varied. I would first dip the film into the solution at a higher temperature before adding the solution to the test tube at a lower temperature.
• I had to exclude some of the temperatures I had planned to collect data at since I didn’t have enough time.
• Sometimes the temperature of the water bath would be higher or lower than what it had been set as.

The temperature does not bear how long the gelatin takes to dissolve and the film to become transparent; a greater temperature will not hasten the process.

Protein deposits form on the surface of contact lenses due to the accumulation of proteins and lipids from human tears (Zhao et al. 2016-2024). The lenses become foggy due to protein deposition, which reduces their ability to correct vision (Lapple ). Additionally, the denaturation of proteins in protein deposits has been linked to the side effects of contact lens use, including discomfort, eye irritation because the immune system perceives the protein deposits as hazardous, and ocular infections (Lapple) (F.A.A.O, Christine W. Sindt, O. D. ). Furthermore, the way that proteins and lipids interact with contact lenses in tears is influenced by the type of protein and/or lipid as well as the substance used to make the lens (Omali et al. 750-757).

A contact lens with protein deposits on its surface will be modeled using scraps of photographic film for the purposes of this project. A thin roll of plastic coated with an emulsion of silver halide crystals floating in gelatin is used as a photographic film (Woodford ). Silver halides are light-sensitive salts that alter chemically when exposed to light. They are created when silver reacts chemically with a halogen (Woodford; Woodworth ). Gelatin, an animal protein that is generated from the structural protein collagen, is a protein that is present in animal skin and bones. When the gelatin on the film was broken down by the protein remover, it became clear, acting as a semi-quantitative signal of when the reaction was finished.

I decided to change the temperature for a number of reasons. In class, I learned about how temperature affects reaction rates as well as how changing temperature affects protein structure. According to earlier research on reaction rates, raising the temperature of a reaction would increase its rate because more reactant particles will collide with one other at the right angles and with appropriate energy ("The Effect of Temperature on Rate of Reaction."; Averill and Eldredge ). The hydrogen bonds and interactions between the nonpolar components that make up a protein's secondary structure are disrupted by higher temperatures, which leads to the unraveling of the alpha and beta helices and alters the protein's secondary and tertiary structures (Horowitz and Koshland; Chaplin; "Denaturation of Proteins").

The temperature impacts how quickly the gelatin dissolves and the film becomes clear; the film will become clear faster at higher temperatures.

• The Menicon solution grew increasingly opaque over time, making it harder for me to see the piece of film properly.
  • I had to remove the test tube from the water bath, shake it, and then re-insert it, which would have resulted in temperature changes; still, this should have had a small impact on my results. I had to do this to stop the film from sticking to the test tube.

Contact lenses are small, transparent lenses that rest on the cornea. They replace traditional eyeglasses as a method of vision correction for issues like myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism (see "Astigmatism" and "Uncover the Mystery: How Do Contacts Work?"). All contact lenses do the same task, which is to alter the direction of the light rays entering the eye so that they can correctly concentrate on the retina (Heiting ).

Reusable contact lenses must be cleaned with protein removers because they develop protein deposits on their surface. In addition to normal cleaning routines, protein removers for contact lenses are typically advised to be used once per week. I personally wear contact lenses, so I am familiar with the cleaning procedure that goes along with them. Protein-removing contact lens solutions come in various brands, and each manufacturer has different usage guidelines. Manufacturers frequently include a warning that the solutions must be stored at room temperature. I was curious about these claims, so I decided to test them by conducting an experiment where I changed the temperature at which a contact lens solution was used to see if this would affect the time taken for protein to be removed from a model.

I calculated an average for the time taken at each temperature by adding up all the data values for a certain temperature and then dividing that number by the number of values (Stapel ). All averages were rounded to two decimal places due to the stopwatch's inaccuracy of 0.01.
I deleted what I deemed to be "anomalous" results from my data analysis, but I was unable to rationally explain why I had come to that conclusion. Every test I found for outliers made the assumption that my data had a normal distribution. Additionally, I was unable to locate any tools that would have allowed me to precisely identify the results that were abnormalities. I made the decision to leave all of my data points in place as a result.

In my real trial, I opted to utilize the Menicon Progent solution. Two distinct solutions make up this protein remover: one made of potassium bromide (KBr), and the other of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO). To enable the solution to remove protein deposits from contact lenses, these solutions must be combined.

The reaction between potassium bromide, and sodium hypochlorite, is as follows ("Chemical Equation Balancer KBr + NaClO = NaBr + KClO."): KBr + NaClO → NaBr + KClO

Potassium chloride and sodium bromide are the byproducts of this process. While potassium chloride has antibacterial qualities, sodium bromide has disinfecting qualities ("Potassium hypochlorite."). Although there is not enough information available on these two substances for me to be certain that this is the case, it is presumably the case that this reaction denatures and disintegrates the proteins in protein deposits.

I also made significant methodological adjustments and adjusted my variables (see Tables 2, 3, and 4).

What is the mean time required for gelatin in the photographic film to disintegrate and turn transparent, which is being used to simulate protein deposits that build up on reusable contact lenses, affected by the temperature at which a protein-removing contact lens solution is employed?

I tested three different kinds of protein removal from three different brands in my pretest: a Menicon product that required mixing two solutions, a Bausch & Lomb liquid enzymatic cleaner, and a Johnson & Johnson enzyme pill that required dissolving in saline solution. I made the decision to do this in order to ascertain which approach would work best in my actual experiment. To determine the range of temperatures I should use for my actual experiment, I tried several temperatures each 10°C apart.

I tried out several different methods, summarised in ​Table 1 ​below.