Biocidal efficacy of silver-impregnated contact lens storage cases in vitro.
OBJECTIVE
Silver-impregnated contact lens (CL) storage cases are designed to reduce microbial contamination during use, but there are limited data on their effectiveness. This study evaluated early antimicrobial activity of silver-impregnated CL cases and silver-release characteristics in vitro.


METHODS
Three silver-impregnated CL storage cases-MicroBlock (CIBA Vision, Atlanta, GA), i-clean (Sauflon Pharmaceuticals Ltd., London, UK), and Nano-case (Marietta Vision, Marietta, GA)-were evaluated. Test organisms included the ISO14729 panel and two clinical isolates, Delftia acidovorans and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Each well of the case was challenged with 2 mL of the organism in phosphate-buffered saline at 10(3), 10(4), 10(5), and 10(6) CFU/mL. Survivors were recovered after 6, 10, and 24 hours' incubation at 25°C. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to quantify the release of silver from the cases for similar incubation conditions and for time points up to 28 days.


RESULTS
Significant differences in antimicrobial activity were observed between cases (P ≤ 0.001). Activity was apparent only after 24 hours. MicroBlock showed the highest activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2.4 ± 0.5 log reduction at 10(6)), Serratia marcescens (3.3 ± 0.9 log reduction at 10(6)), D. acidovorans (2.8 ± 0.1 log reduction at 10(3)), and Fusarium solani (0.5 ± 0.2 at 10(3)). The i-clean case was most effective against Staphylococcus aureus (5.4 ± 1.1 log reduction), whereas Nano-case showed the greatest activity against S. maltophilia (0.2 ± 0.3 log reduction at 10(3)). MicroBlock was the only case to demonstrate silver release over 28 days.


CONCLUSIONS
Current silver-impregnated CL storage cases show variation in their in vitro antimicrobial activity. Broadly, the MicroBlock case demonstrated robust activity against most Gram-negative bacteria, whereas the i-clean case was more effective against S. aureus. Silver-release data suggest different modes of action for different cases.
Dantam
Jaya
J
Brien Holden Vision Institute, Sydney, Australia. j.dantam@brienholdenvision.org
Zhu
Hua
H
Stapleton
Fiona
F
D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003261:Contact Lenses / Q000382:microbiology*; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015818:Eye Infections, Bacterial / Q000517:prevention & control; D015821:Eye Infections, Fungal / Q000517:prevention & control; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D018030:Silver Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*
D004202:Disinfectants; D018030:Silver Compounds