Patent ID: 7687608

Claim:
A water-insoluble gelled matrix comprising: therapeutic agent-mannose-containing polymer conjugates; and chemically modified lectins that bind the mannose-containing polymer portion of the conjugates and thereby cross-link the conjugates to form the water insoluble gelled matrix, wherein the matrix releases the conjugates from a surface of the matrix in a glucose-responsive manner and the chemically modified lectins are obtained by a method comprising the steps of: providing a mitogenic lectin composition that includes a plurality of mitogenic lectins that bind glucose and mannose, wherein the mitogenic lectins are each comprised of one or more lectin subunits; reacting the mitogenic lectins with a chemical compound to produce a chemically modified lectin composition, wherein the chemically modified lectin composition exhibits reduced T-cell mitogenicity as compared to the mitogenic lectin composition; and isolating a portion of the chemically modified lectin composition by glucose affinity chromatography, wherein the isolated portion exhibits reduced T-cell mitogenicity as compared to the chemically modified lectin composition.