Poly(oxazoline-co-ethyleneimine)-epichlorohydrin copolymers and uses thereof

1. A water-soluble and thermally crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material, comprising:

(a) azetidnium groups;

(b) from about 5% to about 95% by weight of first polymer chains derived from a poly(2-oxazoline-co-ethyleneimine)-epichlorohydrin copolymer which comprises

(1) N-acyl-iminoethylene monomeric units in an amount (designated as M1) of from about 2% to about 95% by mole, wherein the N-acyl-iminoethylene monomeric units have a formula of

 in which R 1 is a monovalent radical R 1a which is hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, N-pyrrolidonyl-C 1 -C 4 alkyl, or a monovalent radical of -alk-(OC 2 H 4 ) m3 —OR″ in which alk is C 1 -C 6 alkyl diradical, R″ is C 1 -C 4 alkyl, and m3 is an integer from 1 to 10,

(2) azetidinium monomeric units in an amount (designated as M2) of from about 0.5% to about 95% by mole, wherein the azetidinium monomeric units have a formula of

(3) ethyleneimine monomeric units in an amount (designated as M3) of from 0 to about 60% by mole, wherein the ethyleneimine monomeric units have a formula of *—NH—CH 2 —CH 2 —*, and

(4) crosslink units in an amount (designated as M4) of from 0 to about 5% by mole, wherein the crosslink units have a formula of

 provided that (M1+M2+M3+M4) is about 100%; and

(c) from about 5% to about 95% by weight of hydrophilic moieties or second polymer chains derived from at least one hydrophilicity-enhancing agent having at least one reactive functional group selected from the group consisting of primary amino group, secondary amino group, carboxyl group, thiol group, and combination thereof.

2. The water-soluble and thermally crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophilicity-enhancing polymeric agent is a hydrophilic polymers having one or more amino, carboxyl and/or thiol groups, wherein the content of the amino, carboxyl and/or thiol groups in the hydrophilic polymer as the hydrophilicity-enhancing agent is less than about 40% by weight based on the total weight of the hydrophilic polymer.

3. The water-soluble and thermally crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material of claim 2 , wherein the hydrophilic polymer as the hydrophilicity-enhancing agent is: PEG-NH 2 ; PEG-SH; PEG-COOH; H 2 N-PEG-NH 2 ; HOOC-PEG-COOH; HS-PEG-SH; H 2 N-PEG-COOH; HOOC-PEG-SH; H 2 N-PEG-SH; multi-arm PEG with one or more amino, carboxyl or thiol groups; PEG dendrimers with one or more amino, carboxyl or thiol groups; a diamino-, dicarboxyl-, monoamino- or monocarboxyl-terminated homo- or co-polymer of a non-reactive hydrophilic vinylic monomer; a copolymer which is a polymerization product of a composition comprising (1) about 60% by weight or less, preferably from about 0.1% to about 30%, more preferably from about 0.5% to about 20%, even more preferably from about 1% to about 15%, by weight of at least one reactive vinylic monomer and (2) at least one non-reactive hydrophilic vinylic monomer; or combinations thereof, wherein PEG is a polyethylene glycol segment.

4. The water-soluble and thermally crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material of claim 3 , wherein the reactive vinylic monomer is selected from the group consisting of amino-C 1 -C 6 alkyl (meth)acrylate, C 1 -C 6 alkylamino-C 1 -C 6 alkyl (meth)acrylate, allylamine, vinylamine, amino-C 1 -C 6 alkyl (meth)acrylamide, C 1 -C 6 alkylamino-C 1 -C 6 alkyl (meth)acrylamide, acrylic acid, C 1 -C 4 alkylacrylic acid, N,N-2-acrylamidoglycolic acid, beta-methyl-acrylic acid, alpha-phenyl acrylic acid, beta-acryloxy propionic acid, sorbic acid, angelic acid, cinnamic acid, 1-carboxy-4-phenyl butadiene-1,3, itaconic acid, citraconic acid, mesaconic acid, glutaconic acid, aconitic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, tricarboxy ethylene, and combinations thereof,

wherein the non-reactive vinylic monomer is selected from the group consisting of acrylamide, methacrylamide, N,N-dimethylacrylamide, N,N-dimethylmethacrylamide, N-vinylpyrrolidone, N,N-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate, N,N-dimethylaminoethylacrylate, N,N-dimethylaminopropylmethacrylamide, N,N-dimethylaminopropylacrylamide, glycerol methacrylate, 3-acryloylamino-1-propanol, N-hydroxyethyl acrylamide, N-[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]acrylamide, N-methyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-ethyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-methyl-5-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-ethyl-5-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 5-methyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 5-ethyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 2-hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate, hydroxypropyl (meth)acrylate, a phosphorylcholine-containing vinylic monomer, C 1 -C 4 -alkoxy polyethylene glycol (meth)acrylate having a weight average molecular weight of up to 1500 Daltons, N-vinyl formamide, N-vinyl acetamide, N-vinyl isopropylamide, N-vinyl-N-methyl acetamide, allyl alcohol, vinyl alcohol (hydrolyzed form of vinyl acetate in the copolymer), and combinations thereof.

5. The water-soluble and thermally crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material of claim 2 , wherein the hydrophilic polymer as the hydrophilicity-enhancing agent is: PEG-NH 2 ; PEG-SH; PEG-COOH; H 2 N-PEG-NH 2 ; HOOC-PEG-COOH; HS-PEG-SH; H 2 N-PEG-COOH; HOOC-PEG-SH; H 2 N-PEG-SH; multi-arm PEG with one or more amino, carboxyl or thiol groups; PEG dendrimers with one or more amino, carboxyl or thiol groups; a monoamino-, monocarboxyl-, diamino- or dicarboxyl-terminated homo- or copolymer of a non-reactive hydrophilic vinylic monomer selected from the group consisting of acryamide, N,N-dimethylacrylamide, N-vinylpyrrolidone, N-vinyl-N-methyl acetamide, glycerol (meth)acrylate, hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate, N-hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylamide, (meth)acryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine, C 1 -C 4 -alkoxy polyethylene glycol (meth)acrylate having a weight average molecular weight of up to 400 Daltons, vinyl alcohol, N-methyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-methyl-5-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 5-methyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, N,N-dimethylaminoethyl (meth)acrylate, N,N-dimethylaminopropyl (metha)crylamide, and combination thereof; a copolymer which is a polymerization product of a composition comprising (1) from about 0.1% to about 30%, preferably from about 0.5% to about 20%, more preferably from about 1% to about 15%, by weight of (meth)acrylic acid, allylamine and/or amino-C 1 -C 4 alkyl (meth)acrylate, and (2) at least one non-reactive hydrophilic vinylic monomer selected from the group consisting of acryamide, N,N-dimethylacrylamide, N-vinylpyrrolidone, N-vinyl-N-methyl acetamide, glycerol (meth)acrylate, hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate, N-hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylamide, (meth)acryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine, C 1 -C 4 -alkoxy polyethylene glycol (meth)acrylate having a weight average molecular weight of up to 400 Daltons, vinyl alcohol, and combination thereof.

6. The water-soluble and thermally crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material of claim 2 , wherein the hydrophilic polymer as the hydrophilicity-enhancing agent is an amino- or carboxyl-containing polysaccharide, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, and combinations thereof.

7. The water-soluble and thermally crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophilicity-enhancing agent is: amino-, carboxyl- or thiol-containing monosaccharides; amino-, carboxyl- or thiol-containing disaccharides; and amino-, carboxyl- or thiol-containing oligosaccharides.

8. A method for producing coated contact lenses each having a crosslinked hydrophilic coating thereon comprises the steps of:

(a) obtaining a contact lens, wherein the contact lens comprises, on and/or near the surface of the contact lens, reactive functional groups selected from the group consisting of primary amino groups, secondary amino groups, carboxyl groups, and combinations thereof;

(b) obtaining a water-soluble and thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material of claim 1 ; and

(c) heating the contact lens in an aqueous solution in the presence of the water-soluble and thermally-crosslinkable hydrophilic polymeric material to and at a temperature from about 40° C. to about 140° C. for a period of time sufficient to covalently attach the hydrophilic polymeric material onto the surface of the contact lens through covalent linkages each formed between one azetidinium group of the poly(2-oxazoline-co-ethyleneimine)-epichlorohydrin copolymer and one of the reactive functional groups on and/or near the surface of the contact lens, thereby forming a crosslinked hydrophilic coating on the contact lens.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of heating is performed by autoclaving the contact lens immersed in a packaging solution in a sealed lens package at a temperature of from about 118° C. to about 125° C. for approximately 20-90 minutes to form the crosslinked hydrophilic coating on the contact lens, wherein the packaging solution comprises at least one buffering agent in an amount sufficient to maintain a pH of from about 6.0 to about 8.5 and has a tonicity of from about 200 to about 450 milliosmol (mOsm) and a viscosity of from about 1 centipoise to about 20 centipoises at 25° C.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the contact lens is made by polymerizing a silicone hydrogel lens formulation comprising from about 0.1% to about 10% by weight of at least one reactive vinylic monomer selected from the group consisting of: amino-C 1 -C 6 alkyl (meth)acrylate, C 1 -C 6 alkylamino-C 1 -C 6 alkyl (meth)acrylate, allylamine, amino-C 1 -C 6 alkyl (meth)acrylamide, C 1 -C 6 alkylamino-C 1 -C 6 alkyl (meth)acrylamide, acrylic acid, C 1 -C 6 alkylacrylic acid, and combinations thereof.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the contact lens comprises a reactive base coating including amino and/or carboxyl groups.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the reactive base coating comprises at least one layer of a reactive polymer having pendant amino groups and/or carboxyl groups and is obtained by contacting the contact lens with a solution of the reactive polymer, wherein the reactive polymer is: a homopolymer of amino-C 1 to C 4 alkyl (meth)acrylamide, amino-C 1 to C 4 alkyl (meth)acrylate, C 1 to C 4 alkylamino-C 1 to C 4 alkyl (meth)acrylamide, C 1 to C 4 alkylamino-C 1 to C 4 alkyl (meth)acrylate, allylamine, or vinylamine; polyethyleneimine; a polyvinylalcohol with pendant amino groups; a linear or branched polyacrylic acid; a homopolymer of C 1 to C 4 alkylacrylic acid; a copolymer of amino-C 1 to C 4 alkyl (meth)acrylamide, amino-C 1 to C 4 alkyl (meth)acrylate, C 1 to C 4 alkylamino-C 1 to C 4 alkyl (meth)acrylamide, C 1 to C 4 alkylamino-C 1 to C 4 alkyl (meth)acrylate, acrylic acid, C 1 to C 4 alkylacrylic acid, maleic acid, and/or fumaric acid, with at least one non-reactive hydrophilic vinylic monomer (preferably selected from the group consisting of acrylamide, N,N-dimethyl (meth)acrylamide, N-vinylpyrrolidone, glycerol methacrylate, N,N-2-acrylamidoglycolic acid, 3-acryloylamino-1-propanol, N-hydroxyethyl acrylamide, N-[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]-acrylamide, N-methyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-ethyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-methyl-5-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-ethyl-5-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 5-methyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 5-ethyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-n-propyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-n-propyl-5-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-isopropyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-isopropyl-5-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-n-butyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 1-tert-butyl-3-methylene-2-pyrrolidone, 2-hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate, hydroxypropyl (meth)acrylate, (meth)acryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine, C 1 -C 4 -alkoxy polyethylene glycol (meth)acrylate having a weight average molecular weight of up to 1500 Daltons, N-vinyl formamide, N-vinyl acetamide, N-vinyl isopropylamide, N-vinyl-N-methyl acetamide, allyl alcohol, vinyl alcohol (hydrolyzed form of vinyl acetate in the copolymer), and combination thereof); a carboxyl-containing cellulose; hyaluronate; chondroitin sulfate; poly(glutamic acid); poly(aspartic acid); or combinations thereof.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the reactive polymer is dissolved in a mixture of water and one or more organic solvents, an organic solvent, or a mixture of one or more organic solvents.

14. A contact lens product obtained according to the method of claim 8 , wherein the contact lens is a hydrogel contact lens or a silicone hydrogel contact lens; wherein the hydrogel or silicone hydrogel contact lens has an elastic modulus of about 1.5 MPa or less and a water content of from about 18% to about 70% by weight when fully hydrated.