Patent ID: 6669994
Filing Date: 2003-12-30
Classification: A61L,B05D,C08J,G01N,Y10T

Abstract:
A method of forming a polymer layer on a support surface, the method comprising:a) providing a support surface; b) applying to the support surface a coating agent comprising two or more photoreactive species and one or more negatively charged groups, the coating agent selected from: i) a conjugated cyclic diketone having attached thereto, either directly or indirectly, one or more substituents comprising negatively charged groups, and wherein each ketone group of the diketone is adapted to serve as a photoreactive moiety capable of being activated in order to provide a free radical; and ii) a nonpolymeric core molecule having attached thereto, either directly or indirectly, one or more substituents comprising negatively charged groups, and two or more photoreactive species, wherein the photoreactive species are provided as discrete photoreactive groups; wherein the photoreactive species include at least one first photoreactive species adapted, when activated in the presence of the support surface, to attach the coating agent to the surface, and at least one second photoreactive species adapted, when activated in the presence of free radical polymerizable groups, to initiate polymerization of those groups, the second photoreactive species being adapted, in the absence of such free radical polymerizable groups, to revert to a latent reactive state; c) illuminating the agent upon the support surface under conditions suitable to photochemically attach the coating agent to the surface by means of the first photoreactive species, and to allow the second photoreactive species to remain unbound to the support surface and to revert to their latent reactive state; d) providing a plurality of molecules bearing free radical polymerizable groups; and e) illuminating the molecules bearing polymerizable groups in the presence of the coating agent upon the support surface under conditions suitable to activate the reverted second photoreactive species of the coating agent in order to initiate polymerization of the polymerizable groups on the support surface.