Nanoshell-Based Near-Infrared Blocking Contact Lens

This Phase I SBIR proposal involves the design of a contact lens that will provide nanoparticle-based protection from high intensity near-infrared illumination. The near-infrared protection is provided by embedding a new class of optically tunable nanoparticles, called nanoshells, within the contact lens. Nanoshells consist of a non-conducting core surrounded by a thin metal shell. This structure allows the particle to be designed to extinguish target wavelengths of light throughout the visible and infrared spectrum. Our preliminary review of "off the shelf" nanoshells indicates a substantial level of feasibility can already be demonstrated. In separate work, nanoshells have been demonstrated to be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and have a high safety profile when used in vivo. We believe the proposed technology will provide a high luminance transmission while delivering protection in the region of 670 nm to 1200 nm. Additionally, we believe that our plasmon resonant nanostructures embedded in contact lenses will have no haze, distortion, aberration, prism, or artifacts that impair visual performance or create distractions in the visual field and will not disturb desired contact lens properties such as oxygen permeability or wettability.