DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1, 6-12 and 17-20 are pending in the instant application. Claims 10-12 and 17-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to non-elected subject matter. Claims 1 and 8 are rejected. Claims 6, 7 and 9 are objected.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on March 9, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment and Arguments/Remarks
The amendment and arguments/remarks filed on March 9, 2026 have been fully considered and entered into the application. With regards to the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection over claims 1, 6 and 7, the grounds for rejection are moot in view of Applicant’s amendment and the rejection has been withdrawn. With regards to the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection over claim 9, Applicant argues “the primary amines of HG1a-13 to -18 are positively charged at pH 7.4, the pH at which the charge of the present molecules should be determined (see page 11 lines 21-22).” This argument is found to be fully persuasive and the rejection has been withdrawn. With regards to the 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) rejection as being anticipated by Schlindwein et al., the grounds for rejection are moot in view of Applicant’s amendment and the rejection has been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 3,972,928.
US 3,972,928 discloses the compound
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(see column 11), for example, which anticipates a compound of the claims wherein Y3 is O; Y2, Y1 and Y4 are CH; n3 is 0; R15a and R15a are hydrogen; X3 is NR16; R16 is hydrogen; n4 is 1; R15 and R15 are hydrogen; and X4 is a phosphonium cation.
Claims 1 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by FR 1261280 A.
FR 1261280 A discloses the compound
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(see page 4), for example, which anticipates a compound of the claims wherein Y3 is S; Y2, Y1 and Y4 are CH; n3 is 0; R15a and R15a are hydrogen; X3 is NR16; R16 is hydrogen; n4 is 1; R15 and R15 are hydrogen; and X4 is a quaternary ammonium cation.
Claim Objections
Claims 6, 7 and 9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTIN ANN VAJDA whose telephone number is (571)270-5232. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 6:00-4:00.
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/KRISTIN A VAJDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1622