Importance

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a branched copolymer comprising a hydrophilic component obtainable by an addition polymerisation process and compositions and uses thereof said copolymer comprising:

i) a residue of at least one monofunctional monomer comprising one polymerisable double bond per molecule and a molecular weight of less than 1000 Daltons;ii) a residue of at least one multifunctional monomer comprising at least two polymerisable double bonds per molecule and a molecular weight of less than 1000 Daltons; and wherein the end termini of the copolymer chains comprise one or more of a residue of a chain transfer agent; an initiator or a terminal group derived from a termination reaction;wherein; the molar ratio of the monofunctional monomer to multifunctional monomer is between 50:1 to 2.5:1 respectively; andwherein the hydrophilic component is comprised of at least 1 mole % of one or more residue of a multifunctional monomer and/or one or more residue of a chain transfer agent comprised of a hydrophilic monomer each with a solubility of 0.18 w/w % in water; andwherein the residue of the at least one monofunctional monomer with a molecular weight of less than 1000 Daltons is selected from the group comprising:vinyl acids, vinyl acid esters, vinyl aryl compounds, vinyl acid anhydrides, vinyl amides, vinyl ethers, vinyl amines, vinyl aryl amines, vinyl nitriles, vinyl ketones, and derivatives thereof;hydroxyl-containing monomers and monomers which can be post-reacted to form hydroxyl groups;acid-containing or acid functional monomers;zwitterionic monomers;quaternised amino monomers, oligomeric monomers; and corresponding allyl monomers of the aforesaid vinyl monomers.

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First Claim