Hydrogel tissue adhesive having increased degradation time

A dried hydrogel formed by a process comprising the steps of:

• a) combining in a solvent (i) at least one oxidized polysaccharide containing aldehyde groups, said oxidized polysaccharide having a weight-average molecular weight of about 1,000 to about 1,000,000 Daltons and having an equivalent weight per aldehyde group of about 65 to about 1500 Daltons with (ii) at least one water-dispersible, multi-arm polyether amine having at least three arms terminated by at least one primary amine group, said multi-arm polyether amine having a number-average molecular weight of about 450 to about 200,000 Daltons, and (iii) an effective amount of at least one water-dispersible polyol having a molecular weight greater than 2,000 to about 2,000,000 Daltons, said polyol containing two or more hydroxyl groups per molecule, to form a hydrogel, and
• b) treating said hydrogel to remove at least a portion of said solvent to form the dried hydrogel;
• provided that:
• (A) the water-dispersible polyol does not induce gelation when mixed in an aqueous medium with either (i) alone or (ii) alone;
• and
• (B) if said water-dispersible polyol is a polysaccharide, then said polysaccharide has a weight-average molecular weight greater than 5,000 to about 2,000,000 Daltons.

A composition comprising the reaction product of:

• a) at least one oxidized polysaccharide containing aldehyde groups, having a weight-average molecular weight of about 1,000 to about 1,000,000 Daltons, said oxidized polysaccharide having an equivalent weight per aldehyde group of about 65 to about 1500 Daltons;
• b) at least one water-dispersible, multi-arm amine having at least three arms terminated by at least one primary amine group, wherein the multi-arm amine has a number-average molecular weight of about 450 to about 200,000 Daltons;
• and
• c) an effective amount of at least one water-dispersible polyol having a weight-average molecular weight greater than 2,000 to about 2,000,000 Daltons, said polyol containing two or more hydroxyl groups per molecule;
• provided that:
• (i) the water-dispersible polyol does not induce gelation when mixed in an aqueous medium with either (a) alone or (b) alone;
• and
• (ii) if said water-dispersible polyol is a polysaccharide, then said polysaccharide has a weight-average molecular weight greater than 5,000 to about 2,000,000 Daltons.

A method for applying a coating to an anatomical site on tissue of a living organism comprising:

• applying to the site
• a) at least one oxidized polysaccharide containing aldehyde groups, having a weight-average molecular weight of about 1,000 to about 1,000,000 Daltons, said oxidized polysaccharide having an equivalent weight per aldehyde group of about 65 to about 1500 Daltons;
• b) at least one water-dispersible, multi-arm amine having at least three arms terminated by at least one primary amine group, wherein the multi-arm amine has a number-average molecular weight of about 450 to about 200,000 Daltons;
• and
• c) an effective amount of at least one water-dispersible polyol having a weight-average molecular weight greater than 2,000 to about 2,000,000 Daltons, said polyol containing two or more hydroxyl groups per molecule;
• provided that:
• (i) the water-dispersible polyol does not induce gelation when mixed in an aqueous medium with either (a) alone or (b) alone;
• and
• (ii) if said water-dispersible polyol is a polysaccharide, then said polysaccharide has a weight-average molecular weight greater than 5,000 to about 2,000,000 Daltons;
• wherein (a), (b), and (c) are applied to the site in any order, or (a), (b), and (c) are premixed and the resulting mixture is applied to the site before the mixture completely cures.

A method for bonding at least two anatomical sites together comprising:

• applying to at least one of the at least two anatomical sites:
• a) at least one oxidized polysaccharide containing aldehyde groups, having a weight-average molecular weight of about 1,000 to about 1,000,000 Daltons, said oxidized polysaccharide having an equivalent weight per aldehyde group of about 65 to about 1500 Daltons;
• b) at least one water-dispersible, multi-arm amine having at least three arms terminated by at least one primary amine group, wherein the multi-arm amine has a number-average molecular weight of about 450 to about 200,000 Daltons;
• and
• c) an effective amount of at least one water-dispersible polyol having a weight-average molecular weight greater than 2,000 to about 2,000,000 Daltons, said polyol containing two or more hydroxyl groups per molecule;
• provided that:
• (i) the water-dispersible polyol does not induce gelation when mixed in an aqueous medium with either (a) alone or (b) alone;
• and
• (ii) if said water-dispersible polyol is a polysaccharide, then said polysaccharide has a weight-average molecular weight greater than 5,000 to about 2,000,000 Daltons;
• or premixing (a), (b) and (c) and applying the resulting mixture to at least one site before the resulting mixture completely cures;
• and
• contacting the at least two anatomical sites together.

A method for increasing degradation time of a hydrogel formed from at least one oxidized polysaccharide (component A) and at least one water-dispersible, multi-arm amine (component B), said at least one oxidized polysaccharide containing aldehyde groups, having a weight-average molecular weight of about 1,000 to about 1,000,000 Daltons and an equivalent weight per aldehyde group of about 65 to about 1500 Daltons, and said at least one water-dispersible, multi-arm amine having at least three arms terminated by at least one primary amine group, and a number-average molecular weight of about 450 to about 200,000 Daltons;

• said method comprising:
• contacting component A and component B in the presence of an aqueous medium and at least one water-dispersible polyol having a weight-average molecular weight greater than 2,000 to about 2,000,000 Daltons, said polyol containing two or more hydroxyl groups per molecule to form a mixture that forms a resulting hydrogel, wherein, in said method, the water-dispersible polyol is used in an amount sufficient to increase the degradation time of the resulting hydrogel under predetermined conditions by at least about 10% compared to that of the hydrogel formed under said conditions, but in the absence of said water-dispersible polyol;
• provided that:
• (i) the water-dispersible polyol does not induce gelation when mixed in an aqueous medium with either component A alone or component B alone;
• and
• (ii) if said water-dispersible polyol is a polysaccharide, then said polysaccharide has a weight-average molecular weight greater than 5,000 to about 2,000,000 Daltons.