Product and method for making uniform spherical, acrylic polymeric beads

A method for preparing uniform, spherical polymeric beads comprising

• i) providing a monomer phase wherein the monomer phase comprises a hydrophilic, polymerizable monomer;
• wherein the hydrophilic, polymerizable monomer is water soluble;
• ii) providing a continuous phase wherein the continuous phase is an aqueous phase and further comprises a water soluble acrylic monomer;
• wherein the ratio of the concentration of the water soluble acrylic monomer in the aqueous phase to the concentration of the water soluble acrylic monomer that would be present in the aqueous phase if the aqueous phase were saturated with the water soluble acrylic monomer is 0.5 to 1.0;
• ii) feeding the monomer phase into a first portion of a column at a rate such that the monomer phase is forced through the first portion of the column into a second portion of the column comprising the continuous phase to form a jet;
• iv) vibratorily exciting the jet at a frequency which breaks the jet into droplets;
• and
• v) polymerizing the droplets in suspension to form uniform, spherical polymeric beads.