Patent ID: 7687441

Claim:
A method of treating a portion of a subterranean formation comprising: providing a viscosified treatment fluid that comprises an aqueous-based fluid and a networking agent, wherein the networking agent comprises a boronic acid group and is represented by the formula: Y—X—[B(OR) 2 ] n , wherein Y is at least partially capable of forming a crosslink between at least one member selected from the group consisting of a gelling agent molecule and a second networking agent, X is at least partially capable of preventing or inhibiting a reaction represented by the formula: ROH+R′B(OR) 2 →R′OH+B(OR) 3 , and comprises a compound represented by the formula wherein q is a positive integer greater or equal to 1 or a compound represented by the formula wherein r is a positive integer greater or equal to 1, R and R′ are independently selectable from the group consisting of a hydrogen, an alkyl group, an aryl group, or a combination thereof, the boronic acid group comprises at least one group selected from the group consisting of: an alkyl group, an aryl group, and a combination thereof, and n is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; and treating a portion of the subterranean formation.