Potential use of a nuclear track-etched membrane as a semipermeable membrane for fluid transport and maintenance of the cornea in a slightly dehydrated state for its transparency has been studied. The track membrane TOMTREK based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with a pore diameter of 0.4 mu m and a density of 5 x 10(6) pore/cm(2) has been used in the experiments. The pores have been formed by bombarding the polymer PET with 41.5-MeV Ar-40(8+) ions. After bombardment, the membrane was subjected to chemical treatment in an alkali solution. Contact angle theta on the track membrane surface has been measured using the sessile drop method. Disks of a 10 mm diameter have been cut from plasma-treated membrane samples. An appropriate shape has been imparted to the model by incising and sealing the disk edges.