3Notice 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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This Non-Final Office Action is responsive to the communication received 10/06/2025.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse in the Reply filed on 10/06/2025 of Group II, claims 125-137 is acknowledged.
The Restriction Requirements are deemed proper and are made FINAL.
Claims 125-137 are pending.
Claims 125-137 are under examination in this Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 125-137 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ku et al. (05/30/2019) US Patent Application Publication 2019/0165039 A1 cited in the 12/21/2022 IDS (hereinafter known as "Ku").
With regards to claims 125-137, Ku teaches:
a) as in claims 125-137, a method of preparing a microarray comprising steps of: a) providing a micro-LED array light source comprising an integrated substrate, wherein the substrate comprises an array of reaction sites, wherein each reaction site comprises an anchored functional group and is associated with a micro-LED of the array; b) providing a reaction chamber in fluid communication with the array of reaction sites; c) synthesizing a plurality of polymers on the reaction sites by iterative cycles of: i) introducing a light quencher molecule to the reaction chamber; ii) activating the micro-LED associated with one or more of the reaction sites to deprotect the anchored functional group; iii) introducing a subunit comprising a non-anchored functional group protected by a photolabile group to the reaction chamber such that the deprotected anchored functional group binds the subunit and anchors it to the polymer; and iv) removing unbound subunits; wherein the substrate comprises a functional layer to provide the anchored functional group of step a); wherein a linker is bound to the substrate to provide the anchored functional group of step a); wherein a subunit comprising an acid labile group is bound to the substrate and an acid is introduced to the reaction chamber to provide the anchored functional group of step a); wherein the subunits comprise nucleic acids; wherein the photolabile group is NPPOC; wherein the reaction chamber comprises a flow cell apparatus; wherein the number of iterative cycles is at least 10; wherein the method comprises a step of evaluating the micro-LED array light source by activating all pixels of the array and visualizing the array to determine coordinates of functional pixels; wherein the method comprises proceeding with step c) using only reaction sites associated with functional pixels of the micro-LED array light source; wherein the method results in an error rate in the polymers that is reduced relative to a method wherein a light quencher molecule is not introduced to the reaction chamber; wherein the number of sequence errors is less than 10% of the number of errors that occur in a method wherein a light quencher molecule is not introduced to the reaction chamber; wherein the number of sequence errors is less than 1% of the number of errors that occur in a method wherein a light quencher molecule is not introduced to the reaction chamber (see Figures 2A and 2B and [0038] to [0061]).
Thus, Ku anticipates the present claims.
Conclusion
No claim is allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Christian Boesen whose telephone number is 571-270-1321. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
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/CHRISTIAN C BOESEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1684
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