Biofilms and contact lenses: problems and solutions
Mark D. P. Willcox A * , Ghayah Bahatheg B , Nicole Carnt A , Parthasarathi Kalaiselvan A , Naresh Kumar B , Rajesh Kuppusamy A B , Binod Rayamajhee A , Manjulatha Sara A , Fiona Stapleton A , Ajay K. Vijay A , Muhammad Yasir A and Tsz Tin Yu B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
B School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Mark Willcox (microbiologist) and Naresh Kumar (chemist) are Professors at UNSW Sydney with research interests in microbial colonisation of surfaces and development of new antimicrobials. |
Fiona Stapleton (optometrist) is a Scientia Professor and Nicole Carnt (optometrist) is a Scientia Associate Professor at UNSW Sydney with research interests in the epidemiology of contact lens-associated infection and inflammation. |
Ajay Vijay (optometrist) Parthasarathi Kalaiselvan (optometrist), Rajesh Kuppusamy (chemist) and Muhammad Yasir (microbiologist) are senior research associates at UNSW Sydney with interests in the control of microbial colonisation of surfaces and development of new antimicrobials. |
Ghayah Bahatheg, Binod Rayamajhee, Manjulatha Sara and Tsz Tin Yu are PhD students at UNSW Sydney researching in this area. |
* Correspondence to: m.willcox@unsw.edu.au
Microbiology Australia 44(2) 96-99 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA23027
Submitted: 9 March 2023 Accepted: 20 April 2023 Published: 9 May 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the ASM. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Contact lenses provide excellent vision correction for many people worldwide. However, they can become colonised by microorganisms and this can result in infections and inflammatory responses at the surface of the eye during wear. If not quickly and appropriately treated, the infections can lead to loss of vision and even loss of the eye. The microorganisms, most commonly bacteria, that colonise the lenses can form biofilms on the lenses. For the past 25 years, we have been studying the epidemiology of contact lens-related infection and inflammation, the causative organisms, risk factors for developing the conditions, and new ways of reducing biofilm formation. This article provides an overview of this research.
Keywords: antimicrobial devices, biofilms, contact lenses, keratitis, risk factors.
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