Pressure sensitive adhesives bond two materials when physical pressure is applied to marry the adhesive with the adherent. They are widely applied in self-adhesive tapes, labels and marking films, medical plasters and pads, dermal pharmaceutical dosage forms, medical drapes and biomedical electrodes. Curing current adhesives often involves UV irradiation or heat, capital and energy intensive steps which may produce to toxic byproducts.
The invention concerns novel compositions and crosslinking strategies that greatly simplify fabrication of pressure sensitive adhesives. A soluble and flowable polymer containing latent crosslinking sites is applied to a substrate as a low-viscosity solution or melt. After application, spontaneous crosslinking occurs at ambient conditions, eliminating the need for post-crosslinking equipment, capital and expense. It also eliminates formation of undesired or toxic residues; allows the formation of crosslinked adhesive layers on temperature-sensitive substrates; enables the use of opaque crosslinkable adhesive formulations; and facilitates the incorporation of adhesives into porous or complex substrates. These strategies may be generalized to broader classes of solvent borne and hot melt pressure adhesives.