A contact lens includes a body, having the plurality of monomers including at least some silicone monomer units including at least one zwitterionic distributed throughout the body. The contact lens includes a front surface and a back surface, where the silicone monomer including at least one zwitterionic group can be present in a greater concentration nearest the front surface than the back surface or a point therebetween. The contact lens can be formed by casting a polymer mixture containing the silicone monomer including at least one zwitterionic group.

Method of manufacturing a wellbore downhole tool, including providing a pre-polymer resin and processing the pre-polymer resin. Processing the pre-polymer resin includes applying directed energy from a directed energy source such that the pre-polymer resin is at least partially polymerized to form a polymer seal of the wellbore downhole tool, the polymer seal having one of more mechanical properties that differ along one or more dimensions of the polymer seal. A downhole tool for use in a wellbore, the downhole tool including a polymer seal. The polymer seal is a continuous single monolithic piece, includes polymer structures having a polymer chain including same types of monomers that are bonded together, and the polymer structures are altered along one or more dimensions of the polymer seal and one of more mechanical properties of the polymer seal differ along a same corresponding one of the or more dimensions of the polymer seal.

A device for progressively building up an object from a light hardenable material. The device has a perforated build platform for the object. The build platform forms a build surface that faces a light source. The build platform and the light source are positionable relative to each other by computer control. The device is further configured for supplying the light hardenable material through the perforation of the build platform for building up the object. The invention enables the making of colored objects by stereolithography.

This disclosure provides new methods, compositions, containers, preforms, and designs for refillable carbonated soft drink bottles having improved caustic stress cracking resistance. The method of this disclosure combine the use of PET-based co-polyester resin that incorporates a cyclic hydrocarbon diacid co-monomer and/or a cyclic hydrocarbon diol comonomer, with a bottle design incorporating a petaloid base, for unexpectedly enhanced performance.

The present invention is to provide a monomer mixture that is cured rapidly even in the presence of oxygen and that forms a cured product having high hardness and excellent adhesion to metals and/or glass. The monomer mixture according to an embodiment of the present invention contains two or more types of cationically polymerizable monomers. As the cationically polymerizable monomers, the monomer mixture contains at least 10 wt. %, based on a total amount of the monomer mixture, of a compound having at least one cationically polymerizable group selected from the group consisting of a vinyl ether group, an epoxy group, and an oxetanyl group, and at least one hydroxy group in a molecule, and at least 5 wt. %, based on the total amount of the monomer mixture, of a compound represented by Formula (b). In the formula, R represents an s-valent straight-chain or branched saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon group or an s-valent group having two or more straight-chain or branched saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon groups bonded to each other through an ether bond, and s represents an integer of 2 or greater.

A method and apparatus for forming a 3D article. According to the method, a composite filament material is formed from a UV curable material, a thermoset polymer material and at least one of filaments or fibers. After the composite is formed, the filament is dispensed to form the 3D article. Dispense is typically through a nozzle or other orifice that delivers the composite filament material as a bead of material. As the composite is dispensed, at least a portion of the composite material is exposed to UV radiation thereby curing a portion of the dispensed composite filament. The UV radiation is provided by a light source than can target discrete portions of the dispensed composite filament. For this purpose, the UV radiation source can be a light source integrated with the nozzle or a steered light source. As the composite filament is dispensed, UV radiation is directed onto the composite filament. If a steered light source is used, the composite filament is dispensed and light from the steered UV radiation source is directed to targeted regions of the composite filament, introducing cured zones or regions into the composite filament.

A method of producing a cryogel-based multicompartment 3D scaffold is herein disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: a) providing a first frozen polymeric layer on a refrigerated support kept at subzero temperature; b) providing subsequent polymeric layers to obtain a stack of polymeric layers by possibly modulating the subzero temperature of the refrigerated support; c) optionally incubating the final polymeric structure at subzero temperature; and d) placing the produced cryogel at a temperature above 0° C., the method being characterized in that each subsequent layer i) is deposited on the previous one after freezing of this latter; ii) is deposited on the previous one before the complete polymerization of this latter; and iii) is deposited with a temperature higher than the freezing temperature of the previously deposited layer. Cryogel scaffolds obtained from the method of the invention are also disclosed.

A method for creating a three dimensional (3D) object from reactive components that form a thermoset product. In one embodiment, a method includes providing first and second reactive components that are effective to form the thermoset product. In one embodiment, the thermoset product includes a urethane and/or urea-containing polymer. In one embodiment, the first reactive component includes an isocyanate and the second reactive component includes a polyol having at least one terminal hydroxyl group, a polyamine having at least one amine that includes an isocyanate reactive hydrogen, or a combination of the polyol and the polyamine. In one embodiment, the first reactive component includes a prepolymer, and optionally the ratio of viscosity of the first and second reactive components is from 1:3 to 3:1. Also provided is a 3D object that includes a completely reacted thermoset product, and a thermoset system that includes a first and a second reactive component.

Disclosed are methods for scalable, cost-effective, and rapid production manufacturing and packaging a semi-rigid acoustic coupling medium that can be used for ultrasound diagnostic and treatment systems and techniques. In some aspects, a method includes forming a staged solution by adding together a stock solution comprising a monomer and a block copolymer in deoxygenated water and a primed solution comprising a covalent crosslinking agent and a catalyst; forming a gel-sol by mixing the staged solution with a first network activator solution comprising a monomer activator and a second network activator solution comprising a block copolymer activator; dispensing the gel-sol into a mold; and curing the gel-sol in the mold to produce a semi-rigid acoustic coupling material, where the method is carried under an inert atmosphere.

Provided is a photocurable composition used for forming a resin layer of a concave-convex structure including a substrate and a resin layer provided on the substrate and having fine concavities and convexities formed on a surface thereof. A cured film of the photocurable composition has a surface free energy of 15 mJ/m.sup.2 to 40 mJ/m.sup.2 as measured based on the Kitazaki-Hata theory and a hardness of 0.05 GPa to 0.5 GPa as measured using a nanoindenter.