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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 12-20 (Groups II and III) are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 11/3/25.
Applicant's election with traverse of claims 1-11 in the reply filed on 11/3/25 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Lu lists components of the alkaline material but does not disclose how they are linked together. This is not found persuasive because the reference teaches that one or more of the ligands are present (para [0017]) which suggests linking the ligands by combining them. Also see US 2021/0163817 A1 to Lieberman. Lieberman teaches an organic ligand in combination with a quantum dot (para [0018]) wherein the ligand comprising a ligand group A (at least one ligand A, B and C, para [0048]), at least one linking group B, D1, and D2 (V for each A, B, and C, para [0052]) comprising at least one alkylene group (para [0053]), at least one polar group C1, and C2 (U for each A, B, and C, para [0050]) and a terminal group E (W, para [0051]). There is at least one of each component in the formula U-V-W (para [0048]), which provides values for m, n, and i that at least overlap the instantly claimed ranges of m≥1, i≥1, and n≥0. The components are linked through the functional groups of the ligands represented in the formula U-V-W via straight and branched chains (para [0054]-[0055]). The instantly claimed product lacks an inventive step over Lieberman. When the special technical feature between clams lacks an inventive step, there is lack of unity between groups of claims.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The instant claims contain the transitional phrase “comprising”. Per MPEP 2111.03 ‘The transitional term “comprising”, which is synonymous with “including,” “containing,” or “characterized by,” is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps'. This open-ended definition has been taken into consideration in the following rejections.
Claims 1-5 and 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Sensing Chiral Drugs by using CdSe/ZnS Nanoparticles Capped with N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine Methyl Ester “ by Delgado-Perez et al. (hereinafter Delgado-Perez).
Regarding claim 1, Delgado-Perez discloses a quantum dot material, wherein the quantum dot material comprises a quantum dot body and a quantum dot ligand (abstract) forming a coordination interaction with the quantum dot body (page 11073, para 5), the quantum dot ligand being N-acetyl-L-cysteine methyl ester (page 11074, para 5) which overlaps the instantly claimed first general formula satisfying
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wherein A is a ligand group, B is a first linkage group, C1 is a first polar group,
C2 is a second polar group, D1 is a second linkage group, D2 is a third linkage
group, and E is a terminal group; m is an integer greater than or equal to 1; i is an
integer greater than or equal to 1; the first linkage group comprises -(CH₂)n-, the
second linkage group and the third linkage group each comprise at least one of
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and n is an integer greater than or equal to 0.
See N-acetyl-L-cysteine methyl ester, Delgado-Perez, Scheme 1A, page 11068
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wherein A is a ligand group (HS), B, D1, and D2 are linkage groups (CH) and (C), C1 and C2 are polar groups O=O and -O-, and – is terminal group E, wherein m=i=1 and n is greater than 0. The Delgado-Perez formula includes NH, as a second ligand group, which is not expressly recited in the instant claims. However, the instant claim does recite the transitional term “comprising”. See MPEP 2111.03, cite above, which further states that ‘…"Comprising" is a term of art used in claim language which means that the named elements are essential, but other elements may be added and still form a construct within the scope of the claim’. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the instantly claimed general formula may comprise additional ligand material such as an additional amino group (NH), absent evidence to the contrary.
Regarding claim 2, Delgado-Perez discloses the quantum dot material according to claim 1, wherein the first polar group and the second polar group each comprise at least one of:
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See Scheme 1A, page 11068.
Regarding claim 3, Delgado-Perez discloses the quantum dot material according to claim 1, wherein the terminal group comprises __ (Scheme 1A, page 11063).
Regarding claim 4, Delgado-Perez discloses the quantum dot material according to claim 1 (Scheme 1A), wherein the chain segment in which the first polar group (O=O) is present is a first main chain, the chain segment in which the second polar group is present is a second main chain (-O-), and the chain segment in which the ligand group (HS) is present is a branched chain, and wherein a sum of the number of atoms in the first (6) or the second main chain which comprises more atoms plus the number of atoms in the branched chain is 6, which is greater than or equal to 5 and is less than or equal to 12.
Regarding claim 5, Delgado-Perez discloses the quantum dot material according to claim 1, wherein the number of carbon atoms spaced between two adjacent first polar groups or two adjacent second polar groups is 1, which is less than or equal to 2 (Scheme 1A).
Regarding claim 9, Delgado-Perez discloses the quantum dot material according to claim 1, wherein the quantum dot ligand further comprises a photosensitive group (methyl ester); and wherein the photosensitive group is linked to the first polar group or the second polar group (methyl ester, abstract and Scheme 1A).
Regarding claim 10, Delgado-Perez discloses the quantum dot material according to claim 1, wherein the first polar group or the second polar group is a photosensitive group (methyl ester, abstract and Scheme 1A).
Regarding claim 11, Delgado-Perez discloses the quantum dot material according to claim 1, wherein the quantum dot comprises at least one of CdSe and CdSe/ZnS (abstract).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-8 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art, Delgado-Perez, teaches a ligand composition with a quantum dot comprising first and second polar groups and first, second, and third linking groups. The reference does not teach or suggest pluralities of the first, second, and/or third groups wherein at least two of the pluralities of groups are different. Neither does the reference teach or suggest the particular ligand formula set forth in instant claim 8.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LYNNE EDMONDSON whose telephone number is (571)272-2678. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6:30.
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/L.E./Examiner, Art Unit 1734
/Matthew E. Hoban/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1734