Hydrophilic silicone-organic copolymer elastomers containing bioactine agent

Claim 1

A water-absorbing hydrophilic silicone-organic elastomer for the controlled delivery of a bioactive agent comprising a polymerization product formed from a composition consisting essentially of (A) from 50 to 95 parts by weight of at least one block copolymer of the formula ##STR15## wherein Z is CH 2 ═CR"COOR"'NHCO--, E is ##STR16## Q is a divalent radical obtained by removing the NCO radicals from a diisocyanate selected from the group consisting of aliphatic, cycloaliphatic and aromatic diisocyanates, T is a divalent radical selected from the group consisting of --NR"-- and --O-- wherein said T is attached to a carbon atom on --C c H 2c -- which is at least the third carbon atom away from the silicon atom to which the --C c H 2c -- radical is attached, a is an integer of from 4 to 49, inclusive, b is an integer of from 0 to 15, inclusive, c is an integer having a value of 3 or 4, d is an integer of from 0 to 25, inclusive, e is an integer of from 5 to 50 inclusive, d+e is no greater than 50 and e is greater than or equal to d, f is 0 or 1, f' is 0 or 1, f+f'+b is at least 2, R is a monovalent hydrocarbon or halohydrocarbon radical of from 1 to 6 inclusive carbon atoms which is free of aliphatic unsaturation, R' is a methyl or a phenyl radical, R" is an alkyl radical of from 1 to 4 inclusive carbon atoms or hydrogen, and R'" is a divalent hydrocarbon radical of from 2 to 6 inclusive carbon atoms, (B) from 5 to 50 parts by weight of at least one substantially water insoluble aliphatically unsaturated organic monomer which is compatible with said (A), and (C) a bioactive agent cured by maintaining the composition under free radical polymerization conditions for a sufficient amount of time to obtain said polymerization product, said polymerization product being capable of absorbing at least 3% by weight of water based upon the total weight of said polymerization product before exposure to water.