Process for rendering silicone rubber contact lenses hydrophilic

• US 4,332,922 A
• Filed: 07/18/1980
• Issued: 06/01/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Titmus Eurocon
• Original Assignee: Titmus Eurocon
• Inventors: Schafer, Horst, Kossmehl, Gerhard, Quast, Dietrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Morgenstern, Norman
• Assistant Examiner(s): Page, Thurman K.
• Application Number:
  US06/170,256
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 427/387, 427/38, 427/2, 427/41, 427/40, 427/164, 427/169, 427/399, 427/400, 427/337, 427/340, 427/336, 427/341, 351/160 H, 264/1, 264/1.1, 264/1.4, 525/478, 525/479, 204/159.13, 528/23, 528/31, 528/32, 528/33, 528/37, 528/14
• US Class Current: 525/478
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00 Producing optical elements, e.g. lenses or prisms grinding or polishing of optical elements B24B; constructional form of optical elements G02B; optical parts of spectacles G02C7/00
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00038 Production of contact lenses
• CPC Class Codes: C08G 77/10 Equilibration processes
• CPC Class Codes: C08G 77/38 Polysiloxanes modified by chemical after-treatment C08G77/045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 83/00 Compositions of macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions forming in the main chain of the macromolecule a linkage containing silicon with or without sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen or carbon only; Compositions of derivatives of such polymers
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/043 Contact lenses

Abstract

Process for rendering silicone rubber contact lenses hydrophilic by first reacting the silicone rubber with an oligomeric siloxane containing SiH groups in the presence of a catalyst and then subjecting the resulting equilibrated silicone rubber to a reaction with an aqueous base; or a silane addition reaction with a reactant containing C═C double bonds.

Claims

1. Process for rendering silicone rubber contact lenses hydrophilic, which process comprises, as a first step, reacting the silicone rubber with an oligomeric siloxane containing SiH groups in the presence of a catalyst and a solvent which is a weak swelling agent for the silicone rubber and, in a second step, subjecting the resulting equilibrated silicone rubber to

(i) a reaction with an aqueous base in the presence of an alkali metal hydroxide;

or

(ii) a silane addition reaction with a reactant containing C═

C double bonds.

2. Process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reactant used in the first step of the process is an oligomeric linear methyl hydrogen siloxane of 5 to 50 Si atoms in a chain.

3. Process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reactant used in the first step of the process is an oligomeric linear methyl hydrogen siloxane of 8 to 12 Si atoms in a chain.

4. Process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reactant used in the first step of the process is an oligomeric linear methyl hydrogen siloxane of 10 Si atoms in a chain.

5. Process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reactant used in the first step of the process is a mixture of oligomeric linear methyl hydrogen siloxanes of 5 to 50 Si atoms in a chain.

6. Process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reactant used in the first step of the process is an oligomeric cyclic methyl hydrogen siloxane with 3 to 11 Si atoms in a ring.

7. Process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reactant used in the first step of the process is an oligomeric cyclic methyl hydrogen siloxane with 6 to 10 Si atoms in a ring.

8. Process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reactant used in the first step of the process is an oligomeric cyclic methyl hydrogen siloxane with 7 to 10 Si atoms in a ring.

9. Process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reactant used in the first step of the process is a mixture of oligomeric cyclic methyl hydrogen siloxanes of 3 to 11 Si atoms in a ring.

10. Process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the catalyst used in the said first step is an acid.

11. Process as claimed in claim 10 wherein the catalyst used in the said first step is a Lewis acid.

12. Process as claimed in claim 10 wherein the catalyst used in the said first step is hexachloro-cyclo-triphosphasene.

13. Process as claimed in claim 1 wherein said silane reaction with a reactant containing C═

C double bonds step is used, further comprising a subsequent esterifying conversion step.