NZ197407A - Oxygen-permeable,hard and semi-hard contact lens material - Google Patents

Description

New Zealand Paient Spedficaiion for Paient Number 1 97407 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION 1 Piiority Date(s}: Complete SpsciScatbn Filed: CoZCill', C,01&1 /04-"/^cS'-?>"3Vea.^OlM00 Class: y ......

Publication Data: . ....... fWj'. j98.4 P.O. Journal, No: .

NZ No SS»v W*r1 & IA "fj NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 *ar- k VI V- f lT J-~.

I • ' . vm "OXYGEN PERMEABLE HARD AND SEMI-HARD CONTACT LENS COMPOSITIONS, METHODS AND ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE, We, SYNTEX (U.S.A.) INC., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America, of 3401 Hillview Ave, Palo Alto, California 94304, United States of America, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a Patent may be granted to us, &nd the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement - 1 - (Followed by 1A.) 1 97 4 0 -lA— OXYGEN PERMEABLE HARD AND SEMI-HARD CONTACT LENS COMPOSITIONS, METHODS AND ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 15 The present invention relates to novel chemical compounds, polymers made from such compounds and novel materials and products made from such compounds.

Important use of the materials made from the invention is the manufacture of corneal contact lenses. 20 In recent years, corneal contact lenses have become more and more popular in the United States and throughout the world.

The great popularity of contact lenses is easily understood. One important reason is that such lenses 25 provide perhaps the best possible manner of achieving optical correction for the eyes. The lenses fit directly over the eye, and when properly fitted, are easily retained in place. Problems common with spectacles, such as interference with peripheral vision, moving about on 30 the head, discomfort, and the possibility of improper interpupilary distance, are easily overcome. Contact lenses provide cosmetic advantages and afford convenience 1 97 4 and increased safety when used in diverse pursuits, particularly sporting events.

Now most commonly used contact lenses are generally subdivided into two types, so-called hard contact lenses, ^ and soft contact lenses. Each type of lens has its own advantages, but each also includes certain disadvantages.

Referring first to the advantages of hard contact lenses, these lenses provide dimensional stability, so that the characteristics of an optical prescription will 10 remain unchanged while the lens is in use in the eye. In some cases, the eye will actually conform to the contour of the lens over a period of time so as to improve the vision of the wearer. Moreover, hard contact lenses are relatively durable in relation to soft lenses. 15 While hard contact lenses have the above and other advantages, some patients find such lenses somewhat uncomfortable in use, and prefer the so-called soft contact lens. These lenses fall generally into three categories, namely lenses made from silicone rubber or 20 like materials, lenses made from "HEMA" (hydroxyethyl-methacrylate) or so-called "hydrogel" lenses, and finally, lenses of the methylmethacrylate base type, modified by the addition of polymers such as cellulose acetate butyrate ("CAB"). Soft lenses readily conform to the eye and are quite comfortable in short term use.

They are extremely thin as well as soft and pliable. However, they do not provide satisfactory oxygen transmissibility through the lens.

Referring now to the disadvantage of both soft and 30 hard contact lenses, neither type of lens is able to be worn by a user over an extended period of time because both types of lenses are not enough permeable to the oxygen. As a result, the cornea is unable to "breathe" properly. Consequently, after a period of time, the ^ cornea becomes irritated or perhaps even damaged.

WvTT 22410 'BE t? t" /'■ Moreover, the lenses sometimes tend to adhere to the eye of the wearer after being in place for an unduly long period of time, and this can cause discomfort and even damage to the eye. in view of the foregoing advantages of contact lenses, it would be even further advantageous if there were a contact lens that possessed the known advantages of machinability, dimensional stability, toughness and optical clarity, and which were also sufficiently oxygen 10 permeable to be worn by a user for an extended period, such as for several days, weeks, or even months or more. Users of such lenses could wear them for extended periods and still feel comfortable; could have good vision and not risk injuring their eyes. Contact lenses which could 15 be worn for an extended period would eliminate common problems with existing lenses.

The anticipated life of an extended duration contact lens would be lengthened considerably. This is because the requirement for handling would be very greatly reduced. More sturdy lenses, such as known types of hard lenses, are not susceptible to tearing or cracking, but can be scratched by frequent removal and insertion, and cleaning, particularly if they are dropped occasionally. Losing the lenses is a realistic possibility which could 25 be minimized substantially by having lenses which are removed weekly, or monthly, or at greater intervals.

Referring now to prior attempts to provide polymers with increased oxygen permeability; normally, most or all such known polymers have either been too dimensionally 30 unstable for satisfactory use, or have had other disadvantages. For example, it is known to add significant amounts of additives normally intended to increase wettability. While such materials are helpful in proper amounts, using excess amounts thereof has often 35 tended to cause proteinaceous matter to deposit on and nnta iutt impair the transparency of the inner surface of the lens.

While numerous attempts have been made to improve the oxygen permeability of both hard and soft contact lenses, the attempts have met with only limited success, 5 particularly in thicker lenses. Moreover, many soft lens material provides an environment which is highly suitable for bacterial growth, and this calls for sterilization procedures which in turn require the lenses to be handled frequently.

The present invention, therefore, is intended from the standpoint of an end use product, to provide contact lens materials which are sufficiently oxygen permeable that they may be worn by the user on a greatly extended basis in relation to prior art lenses, which do not have 15 the disadvantages associated with known prior art lenses intended for this purpose.

Referring now to its chemical aspects, the invention relates to the manufacture of copolymers of an acrylic or methacrylic material of a known type and novel, silicone 20 substituted acrylic or methacrylic compounds so as to produce an oxygen permeable plastic material which is uniquely suitable for manufacturing novel corneal contact lenses as referred to above. The expression "copolymers" is sometimes used herein for simplicity in referring to a 25 polymer which includes two principal comonomers, although such polymer may incidentally include one or more additional known monomers in minor amounts for purposes such as cross-linking, increasing the wettability of the final product, or otherwise.

The copolymer compositions and products made therefrom are improved over counterpart prior art compositions by reason of increased dimensional stability and improved gas permeability. Such novel compositions also retain or provide improvements in desirable prior 35 art characteristics such as optical clarity, the ability j ^ 2241Q*-gg" f V to be cast, molded and machined, and compatability with chemically bonded, hydrophilic materials adapted to improve the wettability of the finished product.

Preferably, the compositions comprise high molecular 5 weight polysiloxanylalkylesters of acrylic and methacrylic acids and other compositions as monomers, copolymerized with methacrylates or other esters of acrylic or methacrylic acids, vinyl carbazole, vinyl benzenes, vinyl pyrrolidinone and itaconate esters. 10 According to the invention, one comonomer (the "first" comonomer) is an acrylic or methacrylic ester silane, substituted with one or more highly substituted siloxanyl group. One such typical comonomer is bis(-trimethylsiloxy)methylsiloxanylbis(pentamethyldi-15 siloxanyl)methacryloxypropylsilane which can be copolymerized with an alkyl acrylate or alkyl methacrylate, (the "second" comonomer), with this copolymer composition in turn being cross-linked to a slight degree by cross- linking agents, and preferably 20 further modified by the addition of compounds intended to increase the wettability of the finished copolymer material. This basic polymerization of the novel comonomers with known comonomers occurs through a known double-bond polymerization mechanism. a certain proportion, such as 10% to 60% of this compound is then polymerized with one or more other second comonomer compounds having the same or similar acrylic or methacrylic ester portion, together with the minor amounts of cross-linking and wetting agents, 30 referred to above.

One more aspect of the present invention relates to the method of making the so-called first or novel comonomers of the invention. According to this method, chlorosilanes are reacted with hydroxy derivatives of 35 polysiloxanyl groups, in the presence of pyridine to bond ■22110 rr 1 97 4 0 released hydrochloric acid in the form of precipitated salt of pyridinium hydrochloride at low temperatures. The details of this method are brought out in other portions of this Specification. In still another aspect, 5 the invention relates to alternative methods of preparing the above or similar products. One alternative method comprises reacting others, mono-, di-, or methacryloxypropyltrichlorosilanes with an excess of pyridine and reacting the resulting intermediates with 10 polysilanols, pentamethyldisiloxanol and heptamethyliso-trisiloxanol (3-hydroxyheptamethyltrisiloxane) at about -50°C. a monomer is removed from these reaction mixtures by purification following removal of the low molecular X5 weight materials, with the reaction products being purified by washing with weak alkalies or like materials.

The novel comonomer compounds of the present invention can be represented by the following formulas: CH2=C- '(CH2)nSi O-S where n is an integer 1, 2 or 3 and by: ch3 ^>OSi (CH3) 2—OSi (CH3) 3 :-0 (CH-) nsi—OSi (CH,) — [OS i (CH,) .] 9 ' ^OSi(CH3)2 OSi(CH3)3 where n is an integer 1, 2 or 3. and by: !-0(CH2)nS: Si(CH3) —[OSi(CH3)3]2 i Si(CH3) —[OSi(CH3)3]2 •Si (CH3) 2OSi (CH3) 3 Si (CH3) — [OSi (CH3 Si (CH,) — [OSi (CH, where n is an integer 1, 2 or 3.

^ In the alkyl or phenyl ester second principal comonomer, the alkyl group contains 1 to about 10 carbon atoms, (typically one to six carbon atoms).

One compound which may be used as the first principal comonomer of the present invention is ^ bis(pentamethyldisiloxanyl)bis(trimethylsiloxy)-methylsiloxanylmethacryloxypropylsilane: ch, ch-, I . 1 . 0—s i—0—s i—ch JH3 iH3 (I) :h 3 O- CH CH9=C-C-0 32 410-gT 1. 'V/ another compound is bis[bis(trimethylsiloxy)methyl-siloxanyl]pentamethyldisiloxanylmethacryloxypropylsilane: ch. ch„=t 2=C—C—0 (CH2) 3~S i-O—S i—CH3 A ch CH 0-4 i i-CH. H, ch.

CH. ! 3 T. I .3 S i-O-Sl—0—Si-CH.

CH. iH, i: h. (ii) One more suitable compound is tris[bis(trimethylsiloxy) methylsiloxanyl]methacryloxypropylsilane: ch3 ch3 ch3 CH,—!D i—0—S i—0—S i—CH, 3iH, i iH3 3 fH3 0—S i—CH. ch, <!:h, I 3 3 ch2=c-c-0(ch2)3-Si-0-Si-ch3 f3 6-si-ch.

A CH. i h. ch.

CH,—Si-O-S i-O-S i—CH, 3 ! i 7 3 6h3 ch3 ;h. (in) ■ ^°in r*r 1 4 0 7 Representative known or second comonomers which may be employed in the practice of the invention include the following: methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl 5 acrylate, ethyl methacrylate, propyl acrylate, propyl methacrylate, isopropyl acrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, benzyl acrylate, benzyl methacrylate, 10 phenyl acrylate, phenyl methacrylate, n-vinyl carbazole, n-vinyl pyrrolidinone, 3-hydroxy 2-naphtyl methacrylate, ethyl vinyl benzene, divinyl benzenes, dimethyl itaconate, dibutyl itaconate. Cross-linking monomers include difunctional 15 compounds such as: ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate; diethyleneglycoldimethacrylate; triethyleneglycoldimethacrylate; tetraethyleneglycoldimethacrylate; 20 polyethyleneglycoldimethacrylate; divinyl benzene; tetramethyldisiloxanyldi(methylmethacrylate); and mixtures thereof.

The wetting agents include, but are not limited to: 25 acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, N-vinyl 2-pyrrolidine, and hydroxyalkyl esters of acrylic and methacrylic acids, and mixtures thereof.

In view of the shortcomings of prior art contact lenses and the compounds and compositions used in making 30 them, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel monomers useful in making improved lens materials, improved polymer compositions made from such novel monomers, and improved lenses made from such polymers. aa'iio-ii'g Another object of the invention is to provide novel silicone compounds used as components of polymerizable monomers.

A still further object is to provide a method of 5 making starting or intermediate materials for making novel silicone compounds, and to provide starting and intermediate materials for other uses as well.

Yet another object is to provide highly branched or substituted silane, silanol and siloxane materials for a 10 variety of uses, including the manufacture of copolymers, terpolymers or other polymers incorporating such materials.

A still further object is to provide one or more compounds containing alkyl esters of acrylic or 15 methacrylic acids, and incorporating three polysiloxanylalkyl groups.

A still further object is to provide an optically useful, novel polymeric material of increased oxygen permeability with respect to prior art compounds. 20 Still another object is to provide a material of the foregoing type which may be formulated or synthesized so as to have a desirably high refractive index, and which can therefore be used in the manufacture of bifocal contact lenses, particularly fused bifocal contact lenses. 25 A still further object is to provide a composition which will make possible the manufacture of corneal contact lenses which can be worn for an extended time period while providing greatly increased comfort to the wearer.

Another object is to provide a polymeric contact lens material which is compatible with additives of known kinds used to provide other desirable end use properties.

A still further object is to provide a method of manufacturing copolymers incorporating the compositions 35 made by the novel methods referred to above. 22410 rr 1 \;7 J : These and other objects and advantages of the invention, including those inherent therein, may be achieved in practice by carrying out the methods, and making the compounds and compositions referred to 5 herein. The following examples, which are set forth by way of illustration and not by way of limitation, illustrate preferred methods of carrying the invention into practice.

DESCRIPTION OF 10 THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION EXAMPLE 1 This example illustrates a preparation of a new and useful monomer, bis(pentamethyldisiloxanyl)bis(trimethyl 15 siloxy)methylsiloxanylmethacryloxypropylsilane.

Trichloromethacryloxypropylsilane (261.5 g) is dissolved in 700 ml of dry diethyl ether and placed in a 5 liter, 3 necked, round bottom flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer, a thermometer and an additional 20 funnel. The solution is cooled down to -50°C with a dry ice-isopropanol cooling bath. When the temperature has reached -50°C, a 280 g (slight excess) of dry pyridine is added over a period of about 2 hours, with the temperature being held at -50°C or less during pyridine 25 addition. At the same temperature, two moles of pentamethyldisiloxanol and one mole of heptamethyl-isotrisiloxanol (3-hydroxyheptamethyltrisiloxane), which are prepared by known methods in the art, is added in a diethylether solvent, forming a white precipitate of 30 pyridinium hydrochloride. When all the mixtures of the silanols have been added, the temperature of the reaction mixture is increased rapidly to about +30°C and stirred for one half hour. The pyridinium hydrochloride is isolated by filtration and the filter cake is washed with 35 diethyl ether. ££84^- 22 410 "FF 1 97 4 The crude monomer bis(pentamethyldisiloxanyl) bis(trimethylsiloxy) methylsiloxanylmethacryloxypropyl-silane in diethyl ether is washed twice with water (200 ml each). The upper (organic) layer is then separated 5 and diethyl ether is removed by means of distillation. The crude monomer (I) is washed with 150 ml of distilled water, and thereafter twice with a dilute sodium bicarbonate solution, again with distilled water once, and then dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate for 2 10 hours. The dried monomer is purified by distilling off all low boiling materials at 85°C and 0.1 mm Hg pressure. The purified monomer is refrigerated until used. Density of the monomer (I) is 0.97 5 g/ml at 20°C and nD25 = 1.4135 + 0.0010.

The monomer can also be prepared by another chemical route known in the art (Ref: Alexandrov K. A., Dabagova A. K. Akad. Nauk SSSR; V-119 (1958) pp. 1149-1151).

The chemical route has been adapted by N. G.

Gaylord, U.S. Patent No. 3,808,178; however, the 2® referenced route produces a lower yield of said monomer.

EXAMPLE 2 This example illustrates a preparation of a new and useful monomer, bis[bis(trimethylsiloxy)methylsiloxanyl] pentamethyldisiloxanylmethacryloxypropylsilane. 25 Trichloromethacryloxypropylsilane (1 mole) is dissolved in 1000 ml of dry n-hexane and placed in a 5 liter, 3 necked, round bottom flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer, a thermometer and an additional funnel. The solution is cooled down to -50°C with a dry 30 ice-isopropanol cooling bath. When the temperature has reached -50°C, 280 grams (slight excess) of dry pyridine is added over a period of about 2 hours, with the temperature being held at -50°C or less during pyridine addition. At the same temperature, two moles of O C 3-hydroxyheptamethyltrisiloxane and one mole of jj pentamethyldisiloxanol is added in n-hexane solution, forming a white precipitate of pyridinium hydrochloride. When all the mixtures of the silanols have been added, the temperature of the reaction mixture is increased 5 rapidly to about +30°C and stirred for one half hour. The pyridinium hydrochloride is isolated by filtration and the filter cake is washed with n-hexane.

The crude monomer bis[bis(trimethylsiloxy)methyl siloxanyl]pentamethyldisiloxanylmethacryloxypropylsilane 10 in n-hexane is washed twice with water (200 ml each). The upper (organic) layer is then separated and n-hexane is removed by means of distillation. The crude monomer (II) is washed with 150 ml of distilled water, and thereafter twice with a dilute sodium bicarbonate 15 solution, again with distilled water once, and then dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate for 2 hours. The dried monomer is purified by distilling off all low boiling materials at 85°C and 0.1 mm Hg pressure. The purified monomer is refrigerated until used. 20 EXAMPLE 3 This example illustrates the preparation of a representative oxygen permeable copolymer.

A mixture of 4 5 parts of the comonomer (I) of Example 1, 50 parts of methyl methacrylate, 3 parts of 25 methacrylic acid and 2 parts of triethyleneglycoldimethacrylate and and 0.14% by weight of the entire mixture of t-butylperoxypivalate is placed in a glass dish or tube and then placed in a vacuum oven which has been purged with nitrogen. The oven is closed and the 30 temperature is maintained at 48°C for 24 hours. The monomers react to create a copolymer plastic which is hard, colorless, transparent and rigid. The oxygen permeability is 21.4 X 10~11(cm2/sec) (ml 02/ml X mm Hg). The oxygen permeability of a disc of polymethylmethacry-35 late, measured in the same way is less 0.2 X lO-13- (same 1^ J2G410 PS 1 V units), while that of a disc of hydrated polyhydroxyethyl-methacrylate is 8 X 10"1-1 (same units) .

EXAMPLE 4 This example illustrates the preparation of a 5 representative oxygen permeable copolymer from another comonomer (II).

A mixture of 35 parts of novel comonomer (II) of Example 2, 50 parts of methylmethacrylate, 10 parts of cyclohexyl methacrylate, 2 parts of N-vinyl pyrrolidone 10 and 3 parts of triethylglycoldimethacrylate and 0.25% by weight of the entire composition of t-butyl peroxydecanoate is polymerized in a polyproylene dish or tube at 50°C for 24 hours. The resulting copolymer plastic material is machined, cut, polished, and finished 15 into a concavoconvex lens of 0.10 mm thickness. The oxygen permeability of this lens is 24.4 X 10"^(cm^/sec) (ml 02/ml X mm Hg). (155 mm Hg is the normal partial pressure of oxygen in a 760 mm Hg atmosphere). This particular measurement was made by a "Schema-Versatae" 20 Model 920 gas flux meter which is known and widely used in the contact lens industry.

The following Examples 5-11 illustrate the conditions of preparation and properties of copolymers which contain varying proportions of the novel comonomer 25 of Example 2 when such comonomers are reacted with one or more of the following compounds: methyl methacrylate (MMA); cyclohexyl methacrylate (CHMA) methacrylic acid (MAA); N -vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP); triethyleneglycoldimethacrylate (Tri-EGDMA); tetraethyleneglycoldimethacrylate (TEGDMA)7 and ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate (EGDMA).

The siloxane comonomer used in these examples is \ *y / ^ that prepared in Example 1, namely bis(pentamethyldisiloxanyl) bis(trimethylsiloxy)methylsiloxanylmeth-acryloxypropylsilane and which is abbreviated in the table below as C(I).

The polymerization is conducted in polypropylene tubes for 24 hours at the temperature shown in the table. The table also shows the composition of each form of polymer, and the temperature at which polymerization took place. The properties of the polymer are 10 abbreviated in the right hand corner, with the meanings of the abbreviations appearing below.

In the examples, the principal polymers are C(I) and MMA, with the compositions including one or more other compounds as indicated. MAA provides wettability, CHMA 15 supplements the MMA to accomplish better rigidity, and NVP provides increased wettability, except that where more that 4 or 5% NVP is present, a portion thereof serves as a third monomer. The TEGDMA, Tri-EGDMA, and EGDMA are cross-linking agents.

COMPOSITION WT. PERCENT Example C(I) MMA CHMA MAA NVP Tri-EGDMA TEGDMA Temp EGDMA °C Prop, 57 3 3 2 49 THR 6 40 50 50 THR 7 45 4 2 4 45 THR 8 60 40 45 THR 9 38 45 3 4 47 THR 37 27 27 4 49 THR 11 42 27 27 2 2 43 THR T=Transparent H=Hard 35 R=Rigid #■90 IP 22410 PP Products of the invention herein described as "hard" have a hardness, measured on the Shore D scale of about 84-90, (ASTM 2240) while polymethylmethacrylate, tested the same way, has a hardness of 90-93.

EXAMPLE 12 . This example illustrates the preparation and properties of a wettable, oxygen permeable polymer. A disc is prepared in the manner described in Example 4 from a mixture of 40 parts of the bis bis(trimethyl-10 siloxy)methyl siloxanylpentamethyldisiloxanylmethacr yloxypropylsilane (II) of Example 2, 40 parts of methyl methacrylate, 5 parts of N-vinyl pyrrolidone and 15 parts of dimethyl itaconate, using t-butylperoxypivalate as a catalyst. The polymerization is carried out at 48°C for 15 24 hours. The resulting disc is colorless, transparent, hard and rigid. The oxygen permeability (DK-value) of the polymer is 16.2 X lO"^-1-(cm^/sec) (ml 02/ml mm Hg) . In this example, no difunctional cross-linking agent was used.

EXAMPLE 13 This example illustrates the preparation of a copolymer of methyl methacrylate and the novel comonomer (II) referred to in Example 2.

A cylindrical plug of the copolymer is prepared by 25 polymerizing a mixture of 40 parts of such novel comonomer (II), 50 parts of methyl methacrylate, 5 parts of vinyl carbazole and 5 parts of divinyl benzene, in the presence of t-butylperoxydecanoate at 45°C. Polymer plastic is hard, rigid, and highly oxygen permeable in 30 relation to prior art material.

The previous examples illustrate the outstanding properties of the resulting polymers of this invention. In great measure these properties are attributed to the novel comonomers. nnn i tv ??iHQnEIiL 1 9 7 4 Other additives to the polymers of this invention as known in the art can be made. In all cases, the polymers are optically clear and transparent and meet required standards of desirable high oxygen permeability in semi-5 rigid and rigid contact lenses.

Even though I have described specific examples of this invention, there are many variations possible within the scope of keeping the physical properties as previously described. Such variations include the use of 10 mixtures of monomers within the components to comprise of the required parts of each. For example, two or more siloxanyl alkyl ester comonomers can be used instead a single such comonomer for the component of the composition. Respectively, two or more cross-linking 15 agents can be used. Other additives to the copolymers such as colorants, tints and like materials may also be employed within the scope of normal ranges of this invention. 1 ? 7 - 0 7

Claims (14)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. An oxygen permeable, hard or semi-hard, machinable, diraensionally stable, wettable, contact lens material of high transparency comprising a polymer formed by free radical polymerization from substantially 10% to substantially 60% by weight of at least one silicone-containing monomer selected from the class consisting of bis(pentamethyl-disiloxanyl)bis-(trime thy1si1oxy)me thylsiloxanylme thacryloxypropy1s i1ane, bis[bis(trimethylsiloxy)methylsiloxanyl]pentamethyldisiloxanyl-methacrylox ypropylsilane, and tris [bis (trimethylsiloxy) methylsiloxanyl] methacryloxypropyls'i lane and mixtures thereof, and from substantially 40% to substantially 90% by weight of at least one monomer selected from the class consisting of polymerizable esters of acrylic or methacrylic acids and mixtures thereof, and from polymerizable itaconate esters and mixtures thereof.

2. A contact lens material in accordance with claim 1 wherein siloxanyl alkyl ester monomers having the following structures: (I) bis( pentamethyldisiloxanyl)bis(trimethylsiloxyImethyl-siloxanylmethacryloxypropylsilane 1 97407 -19- Cr3 CH3 0—S i-O-S i-CH. CH. <^h_ i: h. :h. o-si-ch. i: H. CH2=i-C-0 (CH2) 3-S i-O-S i-CH3 10 ^ 3 O-Si-CH. i H3 qh3 ch3 d)-S i-O-S i-CH. ch. CH. (X) 15 or: (II) bis [bis (tr imethylsiloxy) methyl si loxanyl ] penta-methyldisiloxanylmethacryloxypropylsilane 20 CH. zh.

3 T"3 O—S i—O—S i—CH- <fH3 O-Si-CH. 25 ch_ L 3 (hi. CH2=C-C-0 (CH2) 3-S i-O-S i-CH3 a 30 CH, CH 3 O-Si-CH. h. ? :h. CH3-i i-O-S i-O-Si—CH3 iHj iH3 iH3 (II) 35 ♦Uy U4F •22110 FF -20- 197407 or: (III) tris[bis(trimethylsiloxy)methylsiloxanyl] methacr yloxypropylsilane ch3 CH3 CH3 CH,—Si—O—Si—O—S i—CH, * i I 1 3;CH-, 0 CH3;CH,;I -3 O-Si-CH.;10;fa k;CH =C—C—O(CH-)0-$i-O-S i-CH-;15;(III);are present in the amount of from 25% to 50% by weight, 20 itaconate ester comonomer is present in an amount of from 10% to 30% by weight, methacrylic acid ester comonomer is present in the amount of from 20% to 70% by weight, hydrophilic comonomer is present in the amount of from 1% to 20% by weight and cross-linking comonomer is present 25 in an amount of from 1% to 10% by weight of the entire composition.;3. An oxygen permeable plastic material particularly adapted for the use in making contact lenses, said contact lens material comprising the reaction product of from substantially |0% to substantially 60% by weight of at least one silicone-containing monomer as defined in claim I, from substantially 40% to substantially 90% by weight of a polymerizable acrylic material selected from the class consisting of:;i? 7 4 0;-21-;methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate, ethyl methacrylate, propyl acrylate, propyl methacrylate, isopropyl acrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, benzyl acrylate, benzyl methacrylate, phenyl acrylate, phenyl methacrylate and mixtures thereof, and polymerizable itaconate material selected from the class consisting of:;dimethyl itaconate, dibutyl itaconate, methyl itaconate, butyl itaconate and mixtures thereof, from 0% to substantially 20% by weight of a hydrophilic comonomer and from 0% to substantially 10% by weight of a cross-linking comonomer.;

4. A composition as defined in claim 3 wherein said hydrophilic comonomer comprises N-vinyl 2-pyrrolidone or methacrylic acid or mixtures thereof.;

5. A composition as defined in claim 3 wherein said cross-linking comonomer comprises:;ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate; diethyleneglycoldimethacrylate; triethyleneglycoldimethacrylate; tetraethyleneglycoldimethacrylate; polyethyleneglycoldimethacrylate; or divinyl benzene. -;

6 . An oxygen permeable plastic material as set forth in claim 1 wherein said silicone-containing monomer bis(pentamethyl disiloxanyl)bis(trimethylsiloxy)methylsiloxanylmethacryloxy-propylsLlane is a product of the reaction of one mole of tri-chloromethacryloxypropylsilane, two moles of 1,1',1",3,3'-pentamethyl 3"-hydroxydisiloxane and one mole of 1,1',1",3,5,51, 5"-heptamethyl 3*-hydroxy-trisiloxane when reacting at a temperature below 0°C in the presence of pyridine, where byproduct of the reaction is pyridinium hydrochloride. 1 ^ ; zk KJ fr - 22 -

7. An oxygen permeable plastic material as set forth in claim 1 wherein said silicone-containing .monomer bislbis-(trimethylsiloxy)methylsiloxany1] pentamethyldisiloxanylmeth-acryloxypropylsilane is a product of the reaction of one mole of trichloromethacrylc&ypropylsilane, one mole of 1,1',1",3,3'-pentamethyl 3"-hydroxydisiloxane and two moles of 1,1',1" 3,5/5" ,5"-heptamethy1 3'-hydroxytrisiloxane when reacting at a temperature below 0°C in the presence of pyridine, where by-product of the reaction is pyridinium hydrochloride.

8. A process for preparing a contact lens material in accordance with claim 1 which comprises copolymerizing by free radical polymerization from substantially 10% to substantially 60% by weight of one silicone-containing monomer as defined in one of the preceding claims with 40% to substantially 90% by weight of at least one monomer selected from the class consisting of polymerizable esters of acrylic or methacrylic acids and mixtures thereof, and from polymerizable itaconate esters and mixtures thereof.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein the silicone-containing monomer is selected from the class defined in claim 2, 6 or 7.

10. The process of claim 8 wherein the polymerizable acrylic material is selected from the class defined in claim 3, said polymerizable itaconate material is selected from the class defined in claim 3 and said copolymerization is conducted in the presence of 0% to substantially 20% by weight of a hydrophilic comonomer and from 0% to substantially 10% by weight of a cross-linking comonomer.

11. The process of claim 10 wherein said hydrophilic comonomer comprises N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone or methacrylic acid, or mixtures thereof. 1 ? 7 4 - 23 -

12. The process of claim 10 wherein said cross-linking comonomer is selected from the class defined in claim 3.

13. A contact lens made from a contact lens material any one of of /fclaims 1 to 7.

14. A process for the manufacture of an oxygen permeable, hard or semi-hard, machinable, dimensionally stable, wettable, highly transparent contact lens, said process comprising fabricating said lens from a copolymer lens any one of material of/claims 1 to 7. SYNTEX (U.S.A.) INC By Their Attorneys HENRY HUGHES LIMITED Per: as ptv