Methylmethacrylate monomer in intraocular lenses of polymethylmethacrylate. Cellular toxicity

L. Turkish and M. A. Galin

Tissue cultures of secondary rabbit kidney cells were grown in maintenance medium containing varying concentrations of methylmethacrylate monomer from 5% to 0.05%. No pathologic changes were observed in those tissue cultures containing 0.1% or less monomer as compared to controls. Data from previous studies on the rate of elution of monomer from polymethylmethacrylate and from published studies of aqueous humor dynamics indicate that the monomer level in intraocular lenses will be less than the concentration toxic to living cells in tissue culture.