(Meth)acrylate compound and process for the production thereof, (meth)acrylate copolymer and process for the production of (meth)acrylate copolymer, and soft intraocular lens

1. A soft intraocular lens comprising a (meth)acrylate copolymer obtained by copolymerization of a monomer mixture containing a methacrylate monomer (A) of the general formula (I),

wherein R 1 is a hydrogen atom or methyl, R 2 is a linear or branched alkylene group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms and Y is a single bond or an oxygen atom,

a monomer (B) copolymerizable with the (meth)acrylate monomer (A) and a crosslinking monomer (C).

2. The soft intraocular lens of claim 1 , wherein a unit derived from the monomer (A) and a unit derived from the monomer (B) have a mass ratio (a mass of the unit derived from the monomer (A)/a mass of the unit derived from the monomer (B)) of 1/99 to 40/60.

3. The soft intraocular lens of claim 1 , wherein the monomer (B) is selected from a monomer (B 1 ) of the general formula (IV),

wherein R 3 is a hydrogen atom or methyl and R 4 is a linear or branched alkyl group having 3 to 12 carbon atoms,

or a monomer (B 2 ) of the general formula (V),

wherein R 5 is a hydrogen atom or methyl, R 6 is a single bond or a linear or branched alkylene group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, Y is a single bond or an oxygen atom and Ar is a substituted or non-substituted phenyl group or 4-(α,α-dimethylbenzyl)phenyl.

4. The soft intraocular lens of claim 1 , which contains a unit derived from a monomer having capability of absorbing ultraviolet ray.

5. The soft intraocular lens of claim 4 , which contains 0.05 to 3 mass %, based on the total amount of a unit derived from the monomer (A) and a unit derived from the monomer (B), of a unit derived from the monomer having capability of absorbing ultraviolet ray.

6. The soft intraocular lens of claim 4 , herein the monomer having capability of absorbing ultraviolet is a compound of the formula (VI).

7. The soft intraocular lens of claim 1 , which contains a unit derived from a monomer having capability of coloring the (meth)acrylate copolymer in yellow.

8. The soft intraocular lens of claim 7 , which contains 0.005 to 0.5 mass %, based on the total amount of a unit derived from the monomer (A) and a unit from the monomer (B), of the unit derived from a monomer having capability of coloring the (meth)acrylate copolymer in yellow.

9. The soft intraocular lens of claim 7 , wherein the monomer having capability of coloring the (meth)acrylate copolymer in yellow is a compound of the formula (VII).