| abstract |
Hard polymers with extremely high oxygen permeability are described, which consist of the copolymerization product of 1-15 % by weight of a poly-(dimethylsiloxane) bearing multiple polymerizable vinyl groups and having a number-average molecular weight Mn of 1000-8000, 20-50 % of an oligosiloxanylkyl (meth)acrylate, 25-50 % of an at least three fluorine atoms containing vinyl-monomer, 0-30 % of copolymerizable monomers which by themselves as homo- or copolymers have a Shore-D hardness of at least 85, 1-25 % of polyvinyl-crosslinking monomer of 100-1000 molecular weight, and 0-15 % of a watersoluble, copolymerizable monomer. The novel polymers combine a Shore-D hardness of 70-85 with an oxygen permeability of 40-90 barrers, making them outstanding materials for the manufacture and use as rigid, gas-permeable contact lenses. |