Research & Development - Contract Testing

Contamac offers a contract testing service for a wide range of material properties and characteristics as well as finished products. Although we specialise in servicing the contact lens and intraocular lens industry, we are also well suited to meet the requirements of other industries. Many companies have already used our services, including a number of leading producers of cast-moulded contact lenses.

We have considerable experience in the measurement of a wide range of properties for polymer materials and many of the techniques are used routinely as part of our own internal research and development programs. Some characteristics and measurement techniques are specific to products for the ocular industry. However, the general testing procedures and equipment are universal and also applicable to other industries. Where applicable, testing methods adhere to relevant ISO standards or other internationally recognised standards.

We are familiar with the requirements of regulatory authorities such as the FDA. Contamac currently has over 10 contact lens materials registered with the FDA. While gaining approval for our first material it was obvious that we had to be able to perform physiochemical testing of the materials in-house and significant investment was required to enable a wide range of testing equipment to be acquired. However this has reaped benefits in subsequent FDA submissions and means that we now have an enviable range of testing capabilities.

The equipment resource at our disposal represents a wide range of techniques and instrumentation. Within the research and development department, this equipment is concerned with the properties of chemicals and polymers and represents a number of fundamental techniques as listed below.

Analytical Techniques

Gas chromatography
Infrared spectroscopy
UV spectrophotometry
Contact angle measurement (dynamic and static)
Extractable determination
Residual monomer content
Hydrolytic stability

Physical techniques

Mechanical properties
- Modulus
- Tensile strength
- Elongation to break
- Toughness
- Flexural strength

Oxygen permeability
Refractive index
Water content
Specific gravity

Contact Lens Characteristics

- Lens Parameter Determination

Base curve
Diameter
Optical power

- Contact Lens

Care solution compatibility studies
Shelf life

A significant amount of expertise lies at the centre of our contract testing activities. Members of the team have considerable experience in the procedures and analysis of results for all testing techniques. Indeed we have developed these testing procedures over many years and therefore have industry leading experience. Within our team we have several contact lens professionals, their combined time in the optics industry amounts to > 90 years. Their training and experience encompasses hydrogel and Silicon chemistry including post doctorial work at Aston University, material development and characterisation, analysis and analytical method development and investigative techniques. It also combines raw material development and optimisation, sample preparation, the measurement of test lenses and the analysis of performance. This, allied with our state of the art contact lens lathe, means that we are able to produce the most complicated lens geometries as part of any testing requirements.

Information on various test methods are summarised as PDF documents for you to download. If you do have any testing or analysis requirements, please complete the enquiry form and submit by email to research@contamac.co.uk or fax to +44 (0) 1799 543000 for further information.