Compounds comprising a lactam moiety, and a urethane or urea functional group are presented. By a preferred synthesis route, they are prepared using at least one polymerizable compound comprising an isocyanate moiety and reacting it with at least one hydroxyalkyl lactam compound or one aminoalkyl lactam compound. In preferred embodiments the lactam moiety is a pyrrolidone or caprolactam ring, and the polymerizable compound is a functionalized aryl isocyanate. The compounds and homopolymers and non-homopolymers thereof find useful application in a wide variety of arts, including: adhesive, agricultural, biocides, cleaning, coating, electronics, encapsulation, membrane, microelectronics, oilfield, performance chemical, personal care, sealant, and sensor applications.