Patent ID: 8409599

Claim:
A method of applying a hydrophilic coating onto a silicone hydrogel contact lens, comprising the steps of graft polymerizing or graft crosslinking of a coating material onto the surface of the silicone hydrogel contact lens according to Fenton Chemistry in which hydroxyl radicals OH. and OOH. are generated from hydrogen peroxide in the presence of ferrous ions and used in initiating the graft polymerizing or graft crosslinking of the coating material, wherein the coating material is at least one member selected from the group consisting of a hydrophilic vinylic monomer, a poly(C 1 -C 3 hydroxyalkyl(meth)acrylate) homopolymer, a copolymer of C 1 -C 3 hydroxyalkyl(meth)acrylate with at least one vinylic monomer, a poly(C 1 -C 5 hydroxyalkyl(meth)acrylamide) homopolymer, a copolymer of C 1 -C 5 hydroxyalkyl(meth)acrylamide with at least one vinylic monomer, an acrylated polysaccharide, a methacrylated polysaccharide, a homopolymer of a vinyl lactam, a copolymer of at least one vinyl lactam in the presence or in the absence of one or more hydrophilic vinylic comonomers, a homopolymer of acrylamide, a homopolymer of methacrylamide, a copolymer of acrylamide with one or more hydrophilic vinylic monomers, a copolymer of methacrylamide with one or more hydrophilic vinylic monomers, polyethylene oxide, a polyoxyethylene derivative, poly-N—N-dimethylacrylamide, poly(2-ethyl oxazoline), heparin polysaccharides, polysaccharides, polyvinyl alcohols (PVAs), polyamides, polyimides, polylactone, and combination thereof, wherein the coating material is covalently attached onto the surface of the contact lens without UV irradiation to form the hydrophilic coating.