Increase in efficacy of near-infrared femtosecond micromachining in ophthalmic hydrogels with the addition of sodium fluorescein, rose bengal, and riboflavin.

We report on the effect of exogenous doping agents with large two-photon absorption cross sections on the efficacy of near-infrared femtosecond micromachining in ophthalmic hydrogels. Contaflex GM Advance 58 hydrogels were solution doped in low concentrations of sodium fluorescein, rose bengal, and riboflavin dissolved in balanced salt solution prior to femtosecond micromachining with three near-infrared wavelengths: 720, 800, and 1035 nm. Using any of the three doping agents in the concentrations studied produced an increase in the amount of optical phase change induced in the material at all writing wavelengths and reduced the amount of power needed to induce a desired amount of phase change.