Constant exposure
to blue light emanating from screens, lamps,
digital devices, or other artificial sources at night can suppress
melatonin secretion, potentially compromising both sleep quality and
overall health. Daytime exposure to elevated levels of blue light
can also lead to permanent damage to the eyes. Here, we have developed
blue light protective plasmonic contact lenses (PCLs) to mitigate
blue light exposure. Crafted from poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate)
(pHEMA) and infused with silver nanoparticles, these contact lenses
serve as a protective barrier to filter blue light. Leveraging the
plasmonic properties of silver nanoparticles, the lenses effectively
filtered out the undesirable blue light (400–510 nm), demonstrating
substantial protection (22–71%) while maintaining high transparency
(80–96%) for the desirable light (511–780 nm). The maximum
protection level reaches a peak of 79% at 455 nm, aligned with the
emission peak for the blue light sourced from LEDs in consumer displays.
The presence of silver nanoparticles was found to have an insignificant
impact on the water content of the developed contact lenses. The lenses
maintained high water retention levels within the range of 50–70
wt %, comparable to commercial contact lenses. The optical performance
of the developed lenses remains unaffected in both artificial tears
and contact lens storage solution over a month with no detected leakage
of the nanoparticles. Additionally, the MTT assay confirmed that the
lenses were biocompatible and noncytotoxic, maintaining cell viability
at over 85% after 24 h of incubation. These lenses could be a potential
solution to protect against the most intense wavelengths emitted by
consumer displays and offer a remedy to counteract the deleterious
effects of prolonged blue light exposure.