Methacrylate

Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) is an ester of methacrylic acid and a common monomer used in the creation of epoxy resins. While typical home epoxies contain DGEBA (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A), glycidyl methacrylate is instead used to provide epoxy functionalization to polyolefins and other acrylate resins.

Hydroxyethylmethacrylate or HEMA is the monomer that is used to make the polymer PolyHydroxyethylmethacrylate. The polymer is hydrophilic; therefore, when the polymer is subjected to water it will swell. Depending on the physical and chemical structure of the polymer, it is capable of absorbing from 10 to 600% water relative to the dry weight.

Methyl methacrylate is an organic compound with the formula CH2=C(CH3)COOCH3. This colourless liquid, the methyl ester of methacrylic acid (MAA) is a monomer produced on a large scale for the production of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) is a polymer that forms a hydrogel in water. It was invented by Drahoslav Lim for use in soft contact lenses. Copolymers of pHEMA are still widely used today.