Surface and colloid science technology
The research group of Professor Radke focuses on the engineering and technological application of surface and colloid chemistry. Since about 1996, Professor Radke has turned his attention to the physical behavior of tear formation and rupture and to the mechanics and performance of soft contact lenses, including settling dynamics, lens motion, and dispersive mixing in the post-lens tear film. He has validated his innovative engineering analyses with human-subject clinical studies including measurement of tear rupture times and location, tear menisci radii, fluorescence mixing in the PoLTF, and tear-film thickness. Recently, his laboratory is focusing on wettability of soft contact lenses (SCLs) and additives to improve wettability, rates of water and salt flow and evaporative dehydration through SCLs as related to dry-eye syndrome, and oxygen diffusion through SCLs and the cornea using metabolic biochemistry pathways to evaluate the safety of extended wear. In most all of these studies, small clinical trials of the materials or ideas developed are performed. In these clinical studies, Professor Radke utilizes clinicians to perform the trials necessary to provide the important translational component of the research. It is at this collaborative boundary that Professor Radke will offer BCSDP traniees the opportunity to carry out important and interesting studies in translational vision research. These studies could be laboratory human based studies or full scale clinical trials.
