Abstract: Water absorbent structures are disclosed which are intended for use as wound dressings, disposable nappies (diapers) or similar applications. The structures comprise a flexible porous substrate, e.g. an open-cell foam web which is impregnated with (a) a solid, water-insoluble water absorber which has a fine particle size and is capable of absorbing at least 30 times its weight of water and (b) a hydrophilic binder which retains the water absorber in the substrate and comprises a substantially non-cross-linked, water-insoluble, hydrogel forming polymer.Component (a) has a high affinity for water due to the presence of hydrophilic groups in the polymer, but is insoluble in water and in common organic solvents. Component (b) is also water-insoluble, but because of its non-cross-linked structure is soluble in common organic solvents, such as ethanol.

Abstract: A hydrophilic article is disclosed which is a layer of a non-cross-linked copolymer of a hydrophobic monomer component and a hydrophilic monomer component. Preferred hydrophobic monomers are lower alkyl esters of methacrylic and acrylic acids and preferred hydrophilic monomers are vinyl pyrrolidone and hydroxy ethyl methacrylates. The hydrophilic articles of the invention are useful in biomedical applications, especially in wound dressings and as coatings on catheters.