Patent ID: 7208012

Claim:
A coated surgical implant comprising a coating and a substrate wherein the coating and the substrate are not identical, the coating is attached to the substrate by covalent bonds, the coating is from about 0.01 to about 1 μm thick, and the coating comprises a covalently cross-linked copolymer comprising (i) a hydrophobic aryl acrylic monomer of the formula wherein: A is H, CH 3 , CH 2 CH 3 , or CH 2 OH; B is (CH 2 ) m or [O(CH 2 ) 2 ] n ; C is (CH 2 ) w ; m is 2–6; n is 1–10; Y is nothing, O, S, or NR, provided that if Y is O, S, or NR, then B is (CH 2 ) m ; R is H, CH 3 , C n H 2n+1 (n=1–10), iso-OC 3 H 7 , C 6 H 5 , or CH 2 C 6 H 5 ; w is 0–6, provided that m+w≦8; and D is H, C 1 –C 4 alkyl, C 1 –C 4 alkoxy, C 6 H 5 , CH 2 C 6 H 5 or halogen; (ii) a hydrophilic monomer selected from the group consisting of hydroxyalkyl (meth)acrylates; n-vinyl pyrrolidone and acrylamides; (iii) a reactive plasticizer of the formula wherein: X and X′ are independently H, CH 3 , CH 2 CH 3 , CH 2 CH 2 CH 3 , CH 2 OH, or CH 2 CH 2 OH; and n is 3–114, such that the average molecular weight of the polyethylene glycol unit is 132–5000; and a cross-linking agent, and wherein the covalently cross-linked copolymer is capable of absorbing from at least 5 to about 90% water.