PVA hydrogel
First Claim
1. A method of making a covalently cross-linked vinyl polymer hydrogel comprising the steps of:
- a.) providing a physically associated vinyl polymer hydrogel having a crystalline phase;
b.) exposing said physically associated vinyl polymer hydrogel to ionizing radiation providing a radiation dose effective to form covalent crosslinks; and
c.) removing at least a part of the physical associations from step a.) by the feed of an amount of energy sufficient to break the physical associations to be removed.
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Abstract
The present invention provides methods of making covalently crosslinked vinyl polymer hydrogels having advantageous physical properties, and covalently crosslinked vinyl polymer hydrogel compositions made by such methods, as well as articles of manufacture comprising such covalently crosslinked vinyl polymer hydrogel compositions. The physical properties of the produced hydrogels can be adjusted by varying controlled parameters such as the proportion of physical associations, the concentration of polymer and the amount of radiation applied. Such covalently crosslinked vinyl polymer hydrogels can be made translucent, preferably transparent, or opaque depending on the processing conditions. The stability of the physical properties of the produced vinyl polymer hydrogel can be enhanced by controlling the amount of covalent crosslinks.
215 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method of making a covalently cross-linked vinyl polymer hydrogel comprising the steps of:
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a.) providing a physically associated vinyl polymer hydrogel having a crystalline phase; b.) exposing said physically associated vinyl polymer hydrogel to ionizing radiation providing a radiation dose effective to form covalent crosslinks; and c.) removing at least a part of the physical associations from step a.) by the feed of an amount of energy sufficient to break the physical associations to be removed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification