DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-6 and 8-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Independent claim 1 recites the limitation "the particles" in line 10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The “activation particles” are not introduced until later in line 12.
It is recommended, but not required, that all other recitations of “the particles” in claims 1-6 and 8-21 be changed to “the activation particles” as a matter of form and consistency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-6 and 8-21 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action.
Claims 22 and 108 are allowed.
In response to Applicant’s amendment and arguments filed 04 February 2026, the claims are allowable over the prior art. The Moore reference is believed to be the closest prior art for the reasons expressed in previous office actions, however it is agreed that Moore does not expressly state that activation particles are immobilized on a surface of the hollow fiber membrane. Although paragraph [0078] states that cells 110 and particles 114 are concentrated on an interior surface of the hollow fiber membrane 136, this does not necessarily mean that they are bound and immobilized. The Vang reference additionally teaches in paragraphs [0078] and [0143]-[0147] the use of beads to bind antibodies and cells, but also does not teach that the cells and beads (i.e., particles) are immobilized on the membrane.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/NATHAN A BOWERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1799