Patent ID: 7829644

Claim:
A gel-forming composition comprising (a) a monomer of the formula: Z′—X—COC(R 1 )═CH 2 wherein Z′ is a carbohydrate or derivative thereof; X is —NH— or —O—; and R 1 is H, alkyl, carboxylate or a carboxylate derivative; and (b) a cross-linker of the formula: CH 2 ═C(R 1 )CONH(CH 2 ) n -(Q) m -(CH 2 ) n NHCO(R 1 )C═CH 2 wherein n is independently selected in each instance from an integer in the range from 0 to about 10; R 1 is selected from hydrogen, alkyl, carboxylate, and carboxylate derivatives; Q is independently selected in each instance from C 2 -C 20 alkylene, oxyalkyloxy, aminoalkylamino, thioalkylthio, and carbonyl; where each of said C 2 -C 20 alkylene, oxyalkyloxy, aminoalkylamino, and thioalkylthio is optionally substituted with one or more hydroxy, amino, or thiol groups; and m is an integer from 1 to about 10.