1. A water-swellable material, comprising water-swellable polymers that are coated with a coating agent, which comprises an elastomeric material that is phase-separating, having at least a first phase with a first glass transition temperature Tg1 and a second phase with a second glass transition temperature Tg2,
2. A water swellable material according to claim 1 wherein the difference between Tg1 and Tg2 is at least 30\xb0 C.
3. A process for making a water-swellable material that comprises coated water-swellable polymer particles, said process comprising the steps of:
a) obtaining water-swellable polymer particles;
b) applying a coating agent, wherein said coating agent of step b) comprises an elastomeric phase-separating material that has at least a first phase with a first glass transition temperature Tg1 and a second phase with a second glass transition temperature Tg2, to at least a part of said water-swellable polymer particles; and optionally the step of
c) annealing the resulting coated water-swellable polymer particles of step b), so as to obtain said water-swellable material.
4. A process according to claim 3 wherein the coating agent is applied subsequent to step (a).
5. A process according to claim 3 wherein said coating agent is wet-extensible and has a wet-elongation at break of at least 400% and a tensile stress at break in the wet state of at least 1 MPa.
6. A process according to claim 3, wherein the coating agent has, in the wet state, a wet secant elastic modulus at 400% (SMwet400%) elongation of at least 0.5 MPa.
7. A process according to claim 4, wherein the coating agent has, in the dry state, a dry secant modulus at 400% elongation (SMdry400%) and a wet secant modulus at 400% elongation (SMwet400%), wherein the ratio of SMwet400% to SMdry400% is between 1.4:1.0 to 0.6:1.0.
8. A process according to claim 3, wherein said coating agent has a Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate (MVTR) of at least 800 gm2day.
9. A water-swellable material comprising coated water-swellable polymer particles produced according to the process of claim 3.
10. A process according to claim 3 wherein said elastomeric phase-separating material has a Tg1 of less than 20\xb0 C. and a Tg2 of more than 50\xb0 C.
11. A water- process according to process according to claim 3, wherein the elastomeric material is a block copolymeric material, having a molecular weight of at least 50 kDa.
12. A process according to claim 11 wherein said coating agent comprises at least one block copolymer selected from the group consisting of polyurethane-co-polyethers, polyurethane-co-polyesters, polyurethaneurea-co-polyethers, polyurethaneurea-co-polyesters, polystyrene block copolymers and blends thereof.
13. A process according to claim 3 wherein at least a portion of said water-swellable polymer particle are individually coated by the coating agent in the form of a continuous shell around, said shell having an average caliper of 1 \u03bcm to 50 \u03bcm.
14. A water-swellable material of claim 11 wherein said shell is substantially uniform with a ratio of smallest to largest caliper from 1:1 to 1:3.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A compound of the formula:
wherein
R1 is a halogenated phenyl;
R2 is (CH2)X where x is an integer between 1\u20134, cyclobutane or dimethylcyclobutane; and,
R3 is NH2 or OH.
2. The compound of claim 1, wherein R1 is 3,4-dichlorophenyl.
3. The compound of claim 1, wherein R1 is 3-chlorophenyl.
4. The compound of claim 1, wherein R2 is dimethylcyclobutane.
5. The compound of claim 1, wherein R3 is OH.
6. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of claim 1 or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt thereof, and a pharmaceutically-acceptable carrier.