SBIR Phase I: A New Thermoplastic Hydrogel (TPH)

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将研究一种新的热塑性水凝胶（TPH）的合成和生产。 TPH将通过改性聚-2-乙基恶唑啉（一种市售聚合物）制成。 新的TPH将具有交联系统的性质，当冷时，但将流动时，加热。 这种性质对于水凝胶是独特的，通常是共价交联的系统，由于工艺限制，其使用受到限制。 TPH将有能力被最终用户挤出或模塑成几乎任何形式，允许制造今天无法制造的新产品。 水溶性聚合物由于其高的热稳定性而成为理想的候选物。 本项目将描述两种将接枝聚合物连接到聚合物主链上的路线。 从大批量生产的角度来看，这两条路线都是可行的。TPH的应用将包括：医疗产品（导管、隐形眼镜和合成伤口敷料）、粘合剂、可回收的超吸收剂、喷墨打印机介质和各种农业材料。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the synthesis and production of a new thermoplastic hydrogel (TPH). The TPH will be made by the modification of poly-2-ethyloxazoline, a commercially available polymer. The new TPH will have the properties of a crosslinked system when cold but will flow when heated. This property is unique for hydrogels, typically covalently crosslinked systems, which are limited in their use due to process restrictions. The TPH will have the ability to be extruded or molded by the end user into virtually any form, allowing the manufacture of new products that cannot be made today. The water soluble polymer is an ideal candidate due to its high thermal stability. This project will describe two routes for attaching graft polymers onto the polymer backbone. Both routes are viable from a high volume production standpoint.Applications of the TPH would include: medical products (catheters, contact lenses, and synthetic wound dressings), adhesives, recyclable super absorbents, ink jet printer media, and a variety of agricultural materials.