Method for applying renewable polymeric lens coating
AssigneeBausch & Lomb Incorporated
InventorsJoseph A. McGee, Paul L. Valint, Jr., James A. Bonafini, Jr., Joseph C. Salamone
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Abstract
The present invention is directed toward the renewable surface treatment of medical devices such as contact lenses and medical implants. In particular, the present invention is directed to a method of modifying the surface of a medical device to increase its biocompatibility or hydrophilicity by coating the device with a removable hydrophilic polymer by means of reaction between reactive functionalities on the hydrophilic polymer which functionalities are complementary to reactive functionalities on or near the surface of the medical device at reaction temperatures of less than about 55° C.
Claims18
A method for treating the surface of a medical device comprising:
- (a) forming a medical device from a material comprising monomeric units having reactive functionalities selected from the group consisting of azlactone, carboxylic acid, amine, hydroxy and epoxy functionalities, and combinations thereof;
- (b) forming a hydrophilic reactive polymer having complementary reactive functionalities along the polymer chain, said complementary reactive functionalities selected from the group consisting of azlactone, isocyanate, acid anhydride, epoxy, hydroxy, primary amine, secondary amine and carboxylic acid functionalities, and combinations thereof, wherein:
- when the hydrophilic reactive polymer comprises hydroxy or amine complementary reactive functionalities, the medical device monomeric units comprise azlactone reactive functionalities, or when the hydrophilic reactive polymer comprises carboxylic acid complementary functionality, the medical device monomeric units comprise epoxy reactive functionalities;
- (c) reacting the hydrophilic reactive polymer of (b) having complementary reactive functionalities along the polymer chain with said medical device monomeric unit reactive functionalities on or near the surface of the medical device of (a), at a reaction temperature at least sufficient to maintain the hydrophilic reactive polymer in solution and less than 55° C., thus forming a biocompatible surface on the medical device;
- (d) removing the biocompatible surface of step (c);
- and
- (e) repeating steps (b) and (c) to form a renewed biocompatible surface on said medical device having properties similar to the original biocompatible surface of step (c).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.