Curable hydrophilic compositions

• US 7,981,949 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2006
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Thompson, Wendy L., Gaddam, Babu N., Anderson, Kelly S., Lewandowski, Kevin M., Plaut, David J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; David
• Assistant Examiner(s): REDDICK, MARIE L
• Application Number:
  US11/419,779
• Publication Number:
  US 20070275042A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,883 Days
• Field of Search: 523/200, 523/202, 523/203, 523/212, 523/213, 524/430, 524/431, 524/493, 524/547, 524/555, 524/558, 524/588, 524/599, 524/606, 524/609, 524/612
• US Class Current: 523/203
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 15/26 Macromolecular compounds obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds; Derivatives thereof A61L15/225 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 3/245 Differential crosslinking of one polymer with one crosslinking type, e.g. surface crosslinking
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 71/02 Polyalkylene oxides

Abstract

A curable composition is described, including a gel material derived from the curable composition, and medical articles including such material, wherein the transparent gel material includes a polymerized monofunctional poly(alkylene oxide) macromonomer component and a surface modified nanoparticle component.

Claims

1. A curable composition comprising

a) 1 to 20 parts by weight of a surface modified nanoparticle component having ethylenically unsaturated groups and hydrophilic poly(alkylene oxide) groups, wherein the average particle size of said nanoparticle component, prior to surface modification, is 20 nanometers or less;

and

b) 80 to 99 parts by weight of a monomer component comprising;

a monofunctional poly(alkylene oxide) free-radically polymerizable macromonomer having a poly(alkylene oxide) moiety,

and wherein the parts by weight of a) and b) are based on 100 parts by weight of the total curable composition.

2. The curable composition of claim 1 wherein the monofunctional poly(alkylene oxide) free-radically polymerizable macromonomer is of the formula:

R⁶-Q-(CH(R¹)—

CH₂—

O—

)_m—

(CH₂—

CH₂—

O—

)_n—

R²

wherein

R⁶ is a an ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable group;

R¹ is a (C₁-C₄) alkyl group,

R² is H or R¹,

Q is —

O—

, —

S—

or —

NR²—

,

n is at least 5, m may be 0, n+m is at least 5, and the mole ratio of n;

m is at least 2;

1.

3. The curable composition of claim 2, wherein m is at least 1 and the mole ratio of n to m (n:

m) is greater than 2;

1.

4. The curable composition of claim 2 where R⁶ is selected from the group consisting of:

5. The curable composition of claim 1 wherein the surface modified nanoparticles comprise inorganic nanoparticles modified by a first surface modifying agent having an ethylenically unsaturated group and a second surface modifying agent having poly(alkylene oxide) groups.

6. The curable composition of claim 5 wherein said first surface modifying agent is of the formula Y—

R³—

Si—

(OR⁴)_b(R⁴)_3-b, wherein;

R³ is a covalent bond or a polyvalent hydrocarbon bridging group, Y is an ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable group,

R⁴ is independently an alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl group of 1 to 8 carbon atoms optionally substituted in available positions by oxygen, nitrogen and/or sulfur atoms; and

b is 1 to 3.

7. The curable composition of claim 5 wherein said second surface modifying agent is of the formula R²—

(OCH₂CH₂—

)_n(OCH₂CH(R¹))_m-Q′

—

R³—

Si—

(OR⁴)_b(R⁴)_3-b, wherein

Q′

is a divalent linking group;

R¹ is a C₁ to C₄ alkyl group,

R² is R¹ or H,

R³ is a covalent bond or a divalent hydrocarbon bridging group;

R⁴ is independently an alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl group of 1 to 8 carbon atoms optionally substituted by catenary oxygen, nitrogen and/or sulfur atoms;

n is at least 5, m may be 0, and the mole ratio of n;

m is at least 2;

1; and

b is 1 to 3.

8. The curable composition of claim 5 wherein the ratio of hydrophilic poly(alkylene oxide) groups to ethylenically unsaturated groups on the surface of the inorganic nanoparticles is 1:

10 to 10;

1.

9. The curable composition of claim 5 wherein said first surface modifying agent is used in amounts sufficient to react with 10 to 90% of the available functional groups on the surface of the inorganic nanoparticles.

10. The curable composition of claim 1 wherein the nanoparticles are selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, tin oxide, iron oxide, zirconia, vanadia, titania;

and combinations thereof.

11. The curable composition of claim 1 wherein the average particle size of said nanoparticle component, prior to surface modification, is less than 10 nanometers.