Methods and compositions for manufacturing tinted ophthalmic lenses
First Claim
1. A process for the manufacture of a tinted ophthalmic molding comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a water soluble polymer having crosslinkable groups and having a weight average molecular weight of at least 2000;
(b) providing an aqueous pigment dispersion comprising a phthalocyanine pigment and a physiologically acceptable, water soluble, polymeric dispersing agent;
(c) mixing the pigment dispersion with the polymer to form a tinted prepolymerization mixture,(d) dispensing the tinted prepolymerization mixture into a mold,(e) applying radiation to the tinted prepolymerization mixture in the mold, thereby crosslinking or polymerizing the polymer and entrapping the pigment within the polymeric network of the resultant ophthalmic molding, and(f) opening the mold so that the ophthalmic molding can be removed from the mold.
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Abstract
The invention relates to a process for the manufacture of tinted ophthalmic moldings comprising the steps of
(a) providing a water soluble polymer precursor having crosslinkable or polymerizable groups;
(b) providing a pigment dispersion comprising an inorganic or organic pigment and a dispersing agent;
(c) mixing the metal phthalocyanine dye or pigment with the polymer precursor to form a tinted prepolymerization mixture,
(d) dispensing the tinted prepolymerization mixture into a mold,
(e) applying radiation to the tinted prepolymerization mixture in the mold, thereby crosslinking or polymerizing the polymer precursor and entrapping the dye or pigment within the polymeric network of the resultant ophthalmic molding, and
(f) opening the mold so that the ophthalmic molding can be removed from the mold.
According to the process, tinted ophthalmic moldings, particularly full-body tinted soft contact lenses having improved properties, are prepared with an improved efficiency.
71 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A process for the manufacture of a tinted ophthalmic molding comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a water soluble polymer having crosslinkable groups and having a weight average molecular weight of at least 2000; (b) providing an aqueous pigment dispersion comprising a phthalocyanine pigment and a physiologically acceptable, water soluble, polymeric dispersing agent; (c) mixing the pigment dispersion with the polymer to form a tinted prepolymerization mixture, (d) dispensing the tinted prepolymerization mixture into a mold, (e) applying radiation to the tinted prepolymerization mixture in the mold, thereby crosslinking or polymerizing the polymer and entrapping the pigment within the polymeric network of the resultant ophthalmic molding, and (f) opening the mold so that the ophthalmic molding can be removed from the mold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A process for the manufacture of a tinted ophthalmic molding comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a water soluble polymer having crosslinkable groups and having a weight average molecular weight of at least 2000; (b) providing an aqueous pigment dispersion comprising a phthalocyanine pigment and a dispersing agent; (c) mixing the pigment dispersion with the polymer to form a tinted prepolymerization mixture, (d) dispensing the tinted prepolymerization mixture into a mold, (e) applying radiation to the tinted prepolymerization mixture in the mold, thereby crosslinking or polymerizing the polymer and entrapping the pigment within the polymeric network of the resultant ophthalmic molding, and (f) opening the mold so that the ophthalmic molding can be removed from the mold; wherein the dispersing agent is selected from the group consisting of the polymer according to a), polyacrylic acid, and polyvinyl alcohol.
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22. A process for the manufacture of a tinted ophthalmic molding comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a water soluble polymer having crosslinkable groups and having a weight average molecular weight of at least 2000; (b) providing an aqueous pigment dispersion comprising a phthalocyanine pigment and a dispersing agent; (c) mixing the pigment dispersion with the polymer to form a tinted prepolymerization mixture, (d) dispensing the tinted prepolymerization mixture into a mold, (e) applying radiation to the tinted prepolymerization mixture in the mold, thereby crosslinking or polymerizing the polymer and entrapping the pigment within the polymeric network of the resultant ophthalmic molding, and (f) opening the mold so that the ophthalmic molding can be removed from the mold; wherein the crosslinking is not followed by extraction in order to remove undesired constituents.
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23. A process for the manufacture of a tinted ophthalmic molding comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a water soluble polymer having crosslinkable groups and having a weight average molecular weight of at least 2000; (b) providing an aqueous pigment dispersion comprising a phthalocyanine pigment and a dispersing agent; (c) mixing the pigment dispersion with the polymer to form a tinted prepolymerization mixture, (d) dispensing the tinted prepolymerization mixture into a mold, (e) applying radiation to the tinted prepolymerization mixture in the mold, thereby crosslinking or polymerizing the polymer and entrapping the pigment within the polymeric network of the resultant ophthalmic molding, and (f) opening the mold so that the ophthalmic molding can be removed from the mold; wherein said ophthalmic molding is suitable for insertion into a human eye without extraction.
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Specification