Ionic polymers and their use as wet-adhesives and coatings

An adhesive composition comprising a polymer of the formulae A, and B:

• wherein:
• each m, and n is independently 100 to 1,000,000;
• each a, b, s, and t is independently 0, 1 or 2;
• each L1, L2, L3, and L4, is independently absent or is independently selected from the group consisting of —CH2—, —O—, —S—, —(CH2)1-2—, —CH(CH2—)2—, —C(O)O—, —C(O)OCH2—, —CH2C(O)O—, —CH2C(O)NH—, —C(O)NHCH2—, —C(O)NH— and —NR′— where R′ is selected from H, —CH3, —CH2CH3 and —CH2C6H5 or substituted benzyl, or a bond;
• each A, B, M, and N is independently absent or selected from the group consisting of an aryl, substituted aryl, aryl ammonium, heteroaryl, substituted heteroaryl, heteroarylammonium X− and substituted heteroarylammonium X−, wherein each X− is independently a counter anion selected from the group consisting of Cl−, Br−, I−, —SO4−2 and —PO4−3;
• provided that not all of L1, L2, L3, and L4, and A, B, M, and N are absent;
• provided that for Formula A, only one of A, B is a heteroarylammonium X− or a substituted heteroarylammonium X−;
• and
• provided that when L1 is —(CH2)1-2— or a bond, then the group -(A)a-L2-(B)b is not a group selected from -heteroarylammonium(X−)-L2-dihydroxy-phenyl, a substituted or unsubstituted imidazole and a substituted or unsubstituted imidazolinium (X−).