Research Paper

At my last Chemistry 053 lab lecture, our professor told us that contact lenses were once banned in chemistry lab, but claims that contacts are extremely dangerous in laboratory conditions have since been strongly questioned, so the wearing of contacts is now up to our discretion. I was curious about why this should be so and looked up some information about contacts. Apparently, the materials out of which contact lenses are made have changed over time, and some of the newest types of contact lenses are manufactured specifically to transmit more oxygen between the eyes and the atmosphere [1]. It was once a common belief that, in laboratory conditions, gases could get trapped under contact lenses, dissolve into the water of the eyes, and cause permanent blindness, or that chemicals could get trapped beneath the lenses and similarly do serious damage. Many sources now suggest, however that this is a myth.

I found this information very interesting. I plan to research the structure and function of the latest types of contact lenses. The following are questions of interest:
1. What are the lenses made out of?
2. How are the lenses constructed?
3. How do the lenses improve vision?
4. What substances can pass through the lenses?
5. Can any substances pass through the lenses in one direction only?
6. How do lenses dry out? Why does this cause irritation? Can this be reduced?
7. What are the shortcomings of the best currently available lenses? How can the technology be improved?

[1] Segre, Liz. Contact Lens Basics. All About Vision. April 2009. Available: http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/contact_lenses.htm.