Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
  • C08F—MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS
  • C08F226/00—Copolymers of compounds having one or more unsaturated aliphatic radicals, each having only one carbon-to-carbon double bond, and at least one being terminated by a single or double bond to nitrogen or by a heterocyclic ring containing nitrogen
  • C08F226/06—Copolymers of compounds having one or more unsaturated aliphatic radicals, each having only one carbon-to-carbon double bond, and at least one being terminated by a single or double bond to nitrogen or by a heterocyclic ring containing nitrogen by a heterocyclic ring containing nitrogen
  • C08F226/10—N-Vinyl-pyrrolidone
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K9/00—Medicinal preparations characterised by special physical form
  • A61K9/20—Pills, tablets, discs, rods
  • A61K9/2004—Excipients; Inactive ingredients
  • A61K9/2022—Organic macromolecular compounds
  • A61K9/2027—Organic macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds, e.g. polyvinyl pyrrolidone, poly(meth)acrylates
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61L—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR STERILISING MATERIALS OR OBJECTS IN GENERAL; DISINFECTION, STERILISATION OR DEODORISATION OF AIR; CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES; MATERIALS FOR BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES
  • A61L27/00—Materials for grafts or prostheses or for coating grafts or prostheses
  • A61L27/14—Macromolecular materials
  • A61L27/16—Macromolecular materials obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01D—SEPARATION
  • B01D71/00—Semi-permeable membranes for separation processes or apparatus characterised by the material; Manufacturing processes specially adapted therefor
  • B01D71/06—Organic material
  • B01D71/44—Polymers obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds, not provided for in a single one of groups B01D71/26-B01D71/42
  • B01D71/441—Polyvinylpyrrolidone
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B1/00—Optical elements characterised by the material of which they are made; Optical coatings for optical elements
  • G02B1/04—Optical elements characterised by the material of which they are made; Optical coatings for optical elements made of organic materials, e.g. plastics
  • G02B1/041—Lenses
  • G02B1/043—Contact lenses

Definitions

• This invention relates to cross-linked hydrophilic polymers and their preparation and use.
• hydrophilic polymers have been prepared for use in making so called "soft" contact lenses but none of the materials currently in use has proved entirely satisfactory because of the strict requirements for an ideal polymer.
• the polymer must have, when hydrated for use, a high permeability to water and oxygen, so that it can be worn for prolonged periods without damage to the cornea, combined with good tensile strength, so that the lens made from the polymer can be easily handled without damage.
• the polymer must be substantially colourless and transparent.
• a high water content reduces the requirement for high tensile strength and vice versa. This is because the stronger the polymer, the thinner the soft contact lens can be made. Since permeability is inversely proportional to thickness a thin lens of high tensile strength polymer can have the same permeability to water and oxygen as a thicker lens of lower tensile strength polymer. Nevertheless in practical terms there are both lower and upper practical limits on the thickness of soft contact lenses and hence on the permeability requirements of the polymers from which they are made.
• copolymers of the present invention are dependent inter alia on the use, as the predominant, if not the only, hydrophilic monomer, of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, and on including in the copolymer a cycloalkyl aerylate or methacrylate.
• This combination essential for the success of the present invention, is nowhere proposed in the prior specifications mentioned above, except that United States Patent No. 4182822 does disclose cyclohexyl methacrylate as a possible coraonomer, along with many others, in copolymers which essentially contain residues of a monomer such as N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone and a polysiloxanyl acrylate or methacrylate monomer.
• United States Patents Nos.
• N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone does not refer to the use of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, and, while they do refer to the possibility of using cyclohexyl methacrylate as a comonomer, the latter is not differentiated from various other hydrophobic comonomers not having, in the context of the present invention, the same valuable properties as the cycloalkyl monomers.
• the remaining patents disclose the use of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone as a comonomer, and while a wide variety of other possible comonomers, both hydrophilic and hydrophobic, are disclosed, there is no disclosure of any cycloalkyl acrylate or methacrylate as a possible comonomer.
• the present invention accordingly provides a cross-linked hydrophilic polymer capable of absorbing water to give a clear hydrated polymer containing 63 to 90% by weight of water and having a tensile strength of at least 10 g./mm 2 , the permeability to oxygen and tensile strength of the said hydrated polymer being sufficient for forming contact lenses therefrom, the said polymer comprising hydrophilic units of N-vinyl-2-pyrrclidone and hydrophobic units of a cycloalkyl acrylate, methacrylate or itaconate, the said cycloalkyl containing 5 to 7 ring carbon atoms and being unsubstituted or substituted by alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, in relative proportions by weight from 88:12 to 97:3, together with 0 to 30% by weight of the N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone of units of 2-hydroxyethyl or 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate or methacrylate; and 0 to 50% by weight of the
• the tensile strength is related to the water content, and therefore the permeability to oxygen, so that the tensile strength is at least (154 - 1.6x) g ./mm 2 where x is the water content as a percentage by weight.
• These new polymers have excellent shape and volume stability when swollen in water or isotonic saline.
• Preferred polymers in accordance with the present invention have a water content on hydration of 70 to 85% by weight, a tensile strength of at least 35 g ./mm 2 , and an elongation at break of at least 80%.
• the new polymers are particularly suitable for use in contact lenses but can also be used as dialysis membranes, surgical implants, prosthetic devices and carriers for sustained or slow release of flavours and medicaments.
• the new polymers are made by polymerising together, in the presence of a free radical generating catalyst, the various monomers and the cross-linking agent, the polymerisation being effected first at a relatively low temperature so as to gel the mixture of monomers and then at a higher temperature to complete the copolymerisation. It is important to ensure complete polymerisation of the monomer mixture, e.g. by prolonged heating at elevated temperature.
• the polymer may then be shaped and finally hydrated in water or isotonic saline to a water content of 63 to 90% by weight.
• the cross-linking agent used in preparing the hydrophilic polymer may be any suitable copolymerisable monomer containing two or more copolymerisable ethylenic double bonds. Many such monomers are known in the art. Examples are ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethylene glycol dimethacrylate, tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate, polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate, divinyl benzene, allyl acrylate and allyl methacrylate. It is important to use enough of the cross-linking agent since with some combinations of monomers use of too little cross-linking agent leads to a polymer which is not of adequate clarity.
• cross-linking agents having three ethvlenicallv unsaturated groups, two of which differ significantly in reactivity from the third.
• Such cross-linking agents can be used to effect a two-stage or delayed cure, and can produce materials of superior properties when compared with otherwise similar polymers made using cross-linking agents where the reactivity of the double bonds is nearly the same or cross-linking agents with only two ethylenically unsaturated groups of different reactivities.
• the preferred such cross-linking agents are esters of ethylenically unsaturated polycarboxylic acids having (in the acid residue) up to 6 carbon atoms, in which at least two of the esterifylng radicals are allyl radicals.
• diallyl itaconate where the reactivity of the,acrylic double bond is much higher than that of the allyl groups.
• Other suitable cross-linking agents of this type are diallyl fumarate, diallyl maleate, allyl vinyl maleate, diallyl aconitate, and divinyl citraconate.
• the hydrophilic monomer used in the present invention is at least about 77% N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone.
• Other hydrophilic monomers have been found to give inferior results except that up to 30% of the N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone can be replaced by 2-hydroxyethyl or 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate or methacrylate without serious detriment to the properties of the product.
• cycloalkyl acrylates, methacrylates and itaconates which are used in the present invention may be represented by the formula:
• R 1 is H, CH 3 or -CH 2 COOR 2 and R 2 is a cyclic aliphatic group of 5 to 7 ring carbon atoms optionally substituted by alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms.
• examples of such monomers are cyclopentyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, and dicyclohexyl itaconate.
• the presence of this comonomer is essential for the success of the present invention since without it the desired combination of high tensile strength and high water content for the hydrated polymer cannot be achieved.
• the optional other hydrophobic comonomers may, in the case of the acrylates, methacrylates and itaconates, be represented by the formula:
• R 3 is H, CH 3 or -CH 2 COOR 4 and R 4 is a straight or branched saturated alkyl or alkoxyalkyl radical of up to 7 carbon atoms.
• these hydrophobic monomers are methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, methoxyethyl methacrylate, ethoxyethyl methacrylate, dimethyl itaconate, and diethyl itaconate.
• examples of other hydrophobic monomers which are suitable are dimethyl maleate, diethyl maleate, dimethyl fumarate, and diethyl fumarate.
• These optiona hydrophobic monomers can be used either by themselves or as mixtures, and preferably constitute no more than 3 to 18% by weight of the polymer.
• the free radical catalyst employed may be, for example, lauryl peroxide, benzoyl peroxide, isopropyl peroctoate, isopropyl peroxydicarbonate, t-butyl perpivalate, or azo-bis-isobutyrodinitrile, the last being preferred.
• the new polymers comprise units of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, cyclohexyl methacrylate, and optionally methyl methacrylate or dimethyl itaconate.
• the cross-linking agent is preferably allyl methacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diallyl itaconate, diallyl maleate, or diallyl fumarate.
• EXAMPLES 6-31 The mixture of monomers and cross-linking agent, as specified in Table below, is accurately weighed out and thoroughly mixed with the catalyst (azo-bis-isobutyrodinitrile in a proportion of 0.25% by weight of the monomer mixture). The mixture is then placed in polyolefin tubes each 12 to 15 mm. in diameter and sealed at both ends. The sealed tubes are placed in a circulating water bath at a temperature of 25° to 50°C until the polymer gels. The blocks of polymer are then placed in an oven at 60°C for 1 hour and the polymer is then removed from the polyolefin tube. The polymer rods then obtained are cured at 110°C until polymerisation is complete. Data obtained from various mixtures of monomers in accordance with the present invention are contained in the Tables II to IV below.
• the tensile strengths were measured on an Instron (Registered Trade Mark) test machine.
• hydrophilic polymers described in the above Examples can easily be fabricated into shaped articles such as contact lenses by lathing techniques.
• COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES A variety of polymers have been made with mixtures of monomers similar to those used in the present invention except that no cycloalkyl acrylate or methacrylate was included. Data for some of the polymers which have been made are contained in the following Table. Examples A to D were made as described in United States Patent No. 4158089 (see Examples 6, 8, 9, and 12 thereof). Examples E to N were made by the technique described above for Examples 6-31.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Transplantation (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Dermatology (AREA)
• Pharmacology & Pharmacy (AREA)
• Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Eyeglasses (AREA)
• Addition Polymer Or Copolymer, Post-Treatments, Or Chemical Modifications (AREA)

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• 1980
  • 1980-11-04 GB GB8035366A patent/GB2087408B/en not_active Expired
  • 1980-11-14 AU AU64849/80A patent/AU543070B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1980-11-14 JP JP50253980A patent/JPS57501852A/ja active Pending
  • 1980-11-14 EP EP80902122A patent/EP0063561B1/en not_active Expired
  • 1980-11-14 WO PCT/GB1980/000199 patent/WO1982001553A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1980-11-14 DE DE8080902122T patent/DE3070885D1/de not_active Expired
  • 1980-12-18 US US06/218,633 patent/US4361689A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1981
  • 1981-01-05 CA CA000367856A patent/CA1174794A/en not_active Expired
  • 1981-11-03 BR BR8107093A patent/BR8107093A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation

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