Disclosed is a pharmaceutical composition for treating hypercholesterolemia. The pharmaceutical composition includes a polysaccharide-polyamine copolymer and a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof as active ingredients. The polysaccharide-polyamine copolymer is formed by copolymerization of the following two parts: a selectively oxidized polysaccharide with 2,3-dialdehyde, and a polyamine with an amino functional group; the polyamine with an amino functional group and the selectively oxidized polysaccharide with 2,3-dialdehyde can form a net structure by means of covalent crosslinking, resulting in a hydrogel with an amino functional group or a granular polysaccharide-polyamine copolymer, wherein the amino functional group in the hydrogel with an amino functional group or the granular polysaccharide-polyamine copolymer can be protonated so as to form a cationic copolymer of a three-dimensional network structure having a protonated site, and the nitrogen content of the cationic copolymer and the nitrogen content of the polysaccharide-polyamine copolymer are above 12.3 wt %, and both the cationic copolymer and the polysaccharide-polyamine copolymer are water-insoluble.

Provided is a block copolymer comprising a polymer block (A) formed from repeating units of formula (I):

##STR00001## wherein R.sup.1 is methyl or ethyl, and a polymer block (B) formed from repeating units of formula (II):

##STR00002## as well as a hydrogel comprising the block copolymer.

In some aspects, the present disclosure pertains to multi-arm polymers that comprise a core, a plurality of polymer segments having a first end that is covalently attached to the core and a second end comprising a moiety that comprises a reactive group, wherein the polymer segments comprise one or more free-radical-polymerizable monomers. In some aspects, systems are provided that comprise a first composition comprising such a multi-arm polymer and a second composition comprising a multifunctional compound that comprises functional groups that are reactive with the reactive groups of the multi-arm polymer. In some aspects, systems are provided that comprise crosslinked reaction products of such a multi-arm polymer and such a multifunctional compound.

The invention relates to novel a high-volume swelling hydrogel which comprises a plurality of pores which are defined by an interpenetrating network, and/or a semi-interpenetrating network and/or simple cross-linked arrangement of a plurality of one or more species of hydrophilic polymers, optionally together with one or more biocompatible polymers and optionally together with one or more plasticising agents, characterised in that at least some of the pores are at least partially collapsed and/or flattened, and further characterised in that the interpenetrating network and/or semi-interpenetrating network and/or cross-linked arrangement which defines the collapsed and/or flattened pores is substantially unbroken. The invention also relates to a process for preparing such hydrogels, and to their use as an appetite suppressant.

The invention relates to a polymer structure (1) formed by at least a polymer, wherein said structure (1) comprises a volume (2) and a surface (3), wherein said polymer comprises a plurality of polymer chains connected by linkings, characterized by a linking density, wherein said linking density increases, particularly monotonously, from the surface (3) into the volume (2) of the polymer structure (1).

A crosslinked embolic hydrogel is disclosed, the crosslinked embolic hydrogel comprising a hydrophilic polymer functionalized with first reactive groups and a crosslinking agent functionalized with second reactive groups; wherein the first and second reacting groups comprise a biorthogonally reactive pair that react to form the crosslinked embolic hydrogel. Methods and systems are also disclosed.

The present invention generally relates to inherently wettable silicone hydrogel contact lenses having relatively high oxygen permeability, relatively high equilibrium water content and relatively low elastic modulus. The present invention is also related to a method for making such inherently wettable silicone hydrogel contact lenses.

Provided is a hydrogel composition including thermosensitive poly(phosphazene) to which a plurality of hydrophobic amino acids, hydrophilic polymers, and host molecules are substituted; and a physiologically active material linked to a guest molecule, wherein the poly(phosphazene) and the physiologically active material form a conjugate by inclusion of the guest molecule in the host molecule via a host-guest interaction.

The invention relates to a polymerization method in which alkyl glycidyl ethers and epoxides, such as ethylene oxide, polypropylene oxide, 1-ethoxyethyl glycidyl ether and gycidol, are copolymerized and block copolymers are synthesized. The inventive methods include an initiator, oligomer blocks of 1 to 40 alkyl glycidyl ether units of type (I), (II) or (III), and 80 to 1000 epoxy units of large polyether blocks, such as polyethylene oxide (PEO), polypropylene oxide (PPO), polyethoxyethylene glycidyl ether (PEEGE), linear and branched polyglycidol (PG, hbPG) or random copolymers of two, three or four different epoxide units, such as ethylene oxide (EO), propylene oxide (PO), 1-ethoxyethyl glycidyl ether (EEGE) and/or glycidol.

The invention provides a metallopolymer coordination network comprising one or more coinage or similar metals and a glyme or glyme-equivalent. The composition has an amorphous polymer network that is significantly stronger than previously reported supramolecular hydrogels synthesized without glyme. Glyme chain length and water content strongly influence the mechanical, electronic, and optical behavior of the network.