Patent ID: 8728445

Claim:
A hydrogel composition entirely comprised of a single continuous hydrophilic phase, the composition comprising: (a) a water-swellable acrylate copolymer comprising subunits selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, and ethyl methacrylate; and (b) a poly(N-vinyl lactam) in admixture with a complementary oligomer capable of hydrogen bonding thereto, wherein the water-swellable acrylate copolymer represents 2 wt. % solids to 15 wt. % solids of the composition and has a ratio of free carboxyl groups to ester groups in a range of about 1:1 to 1:2.