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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Figures 7a and 7b are plots where multiple species properties are plotted. While the plot includes traces that are black and traces that are gray with accompanying shapes, the legend does not indicate which species the gray traces refer to, as all traces are shown as black. As such, it is not possible to determine which species are related to which trace. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities: claim 16 refers to a cross-linker, which is written as crosslinker in other claims that reference this compound. The applicant should correct this instance to match the form used in the other claims as well as the specification. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 23 references “the composition of claim 12”, which has been cancelled. As such, there is no composition of claim 12 to further limit. The applicant is required to revise the claim to place it in proper dependent form. For the purposes of examination, the claim will be interpreted to be dependent upon claim 15.
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 factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 15-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mees (Macromolecules (2015) volume 48 pages 3531-3538, Nonpatent Literature Reference #5 from IDS dated 7/10/2023) in view of Dargaville (Macromolecular Rapid Communications (2012) volume 33 pages 1695-1700).
Regarding Claims 15-18 and 24-25,
Mees teaches a polymer with a poly(2-alkyl-oxazoline backbone) with the following structure in scheme 1:
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where R is an alkyl group (Page 3531, Introduction section, Paragraph 1) with methyl and ethyl groups mentioned (Page 3531, Introduction section, Paragraph 2) and with examples explicitly using R equal to ethyl (Page 3532, Experimental section, Paragraph 1). The structure from scheme 1 includes R1 groups such as propene (Table 1, Entry 10), meeting the requirements of the instant claim. The listed structure is generated from a 2-alkyl-2-oxazoline where R is equal to ethyl and where x=2, meeting the requirements of claims 17 and 18. Mees also teaches that terminal double and triple bonds are useful in postpolymerization modification reactions such as thiol-ene and other click reactions (Page 3531-2, Introduction section, Paragraph 3). Mees does not explicitly teach using this group for cross-linking. However, Dargaville teaches poly(2-oxazoline) polymers where pendant alkene groups are crosslinked with dithiol compounds in order to generate hydrogels (Abstract, Scheme 1). While Dargaville’s alkene is not connected through an amide linkage, it is connected to an oxazoline-based backbone unit and one of ordinarily skill in the art would recognize that other linkages would be possible. Also, because the cross-linking reaction proceeds in the presence of carbonyl functionality, it would logically follow that the presence of such a group does not hinder the cross-linking reaction. Seeking to adjust the length of the cross-linker to increase the rigidity of the polymer, the ordinarily skilled artisan would look to alternate groups appended to the base polymer to accomplish this. And as noted by Mees, the attachment of unsaturated groups is motivated to allow for postpolymerization modification (Page 3532, Introduction section, final paragraph). As such, it would have been obvious prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to have combined the cross-linking thiol-ene reaction used by Dargaville with the allylamido functionalized oxazoline-based polymer of Mees to obtain the predictable result of a cross-linked oxazoline-based polymer hydrogel with a reasonable expectation of success.
Finally, Mees in view of Dargaville teaches a method to generate the cross-linked polymer through mixing the alkene containing polymer with a dithiol in ethanol and irradiating the solution at 365 nm to generate a hydrogel (Page 1697, left column, paragraph 2).
Regarding Claims 19-21,
Mees teaches a copolymer with two different monomers as required by the instant claim as discussed above in regard to claims 15-18 and 24. Additionally, Mees teaches that 18% of the monomers are functionalized to have the allylamino side chains (Page 3533, Results and Discussion section, Paragraph 2), corresponding to a ratio of 18:82, meeting the requirement of the instant claims. Additionally, as 18% of the monomer units contain the allylamido group, it would logically follow that based upon a degree of polymerization of 100 (Page 3532, Experimental section, Paragraph 1), that 18 of the allylamino groups would be present, meeting the requirement of claim 21. Finally, as the structure of the polymer is the following:
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the Z group is a succinimide-based linker, meeting the requirements for the structure according to claim 21.
Regarding Claim 22,
Mees teaches that the copolymer starting material has a degree of polymerization of 100 (Page 3532, Experimental section, Paragraph 1), which is further reacted to generate the desired copolymer, meeting the requirement of the instant claim.
Regarding Claim 23,
Mees disclosed a polymer with a degree of polymerization of 100, however does not disclose a polymer with a degree of polymerization of 200 to 500. However, Dargaville uses polymers with degrees of polymerization of greater than 200 (Scheme 1). As the degree of polymerization is defined to be the number of monomer units contained in the polymer, it would necessarily follow that a higher degree of polymerization would indicate a higher molecular weight of the polymer. Dargaville also teaches that the molar mass of the linear polymer chains is involved in determining the mesh size of the resulting hydrogel which is related to the size of molecule that can be encapsulated (Page 1698, right column, second paragraph). As such, the ordinarily skilled artisan would be motivated to adjust the mass of the polymer and by extension, the degree of polymerization, in order to accommodate the desired molecule to be encapsulated. It would therefore have been obvious prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to have set the degree of polymerization to a value necessary to fit the desired purpose of the polymer.
Regarding Claims 26 and 27,
Mees in view of Dargaville teaches the required structure of the instant claim as discussed above in regard to claims 15-18 and 24-25. Mees is silent on the use of the poly(2-oxazoline) polymers as inks. However, Dargaville teaches that hydrogels are useful in applications involving printed scaffolds (Page 1695, right column, paragraph 1) and additionally teaches the cross-linking reaction to take place in solvent as discussed above in regard to claims 15-18 and 24-25. It would necessarily follow that such a liquid could be dispensed and then cross-linked, which reads upon the requirements of the instant claim. It would have been obvious prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to have combined the cross-the teachings of Dargaville with the allylamido functionalized oxazoline-based polymer of Mees for the reasons discussed above in regard to claims 15-18 and 24-25.
Regarding Claims 28 and 29,
Claims 28 and 29 are directed towards a method of treatment of disorders or food or cosmetic products, but do not indicate any particular feature that is required to modify the composition in order to be suitable for such purposes. As such, these claims are treated as intended use and it would necessarily follow that any composition meeting the requirements of the composition would necessarily capable of serving in such capacities. Additionally, Mees states that poly(2-oxazoline) polymers are useful in biomedical applications (Page 3531, Introduction Section, right column, paragraph 1), which would include use cases such as for therapeutics as well as any use case that involves ingestion. As such, it would have been obvious prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to have used the composition of Mees in view of Dargaville as a method of administering therapeutics or in any biomedically related use case.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wiesbrock (Macromolecules (2005) volume 38, page 5025) discusses the degree of polymerization of poly(2-oxazoline)s in relation to molecular weight and polydispersity. Kleine-Brueggeny (WO 2019048714) teaches the use of poly(2-oxazolines) that are crosslinked to make hydrogels for a variety uses. Hoogenboom (US 9,180,202) teaches the use of poly(2-oxazoline)s for delivery of therapeutics.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM J BERRO whose telephone number is (703)756-1283. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Heidi Kelley can be reached at 571-270-1831. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A.J.B./Examiner, Art Unit 1765 /HEIDI R KELLEY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1765