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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-12 are pending in the application.
Claims 4-12 are withdrawn.
Claims 1-3 are the subject of this office action.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-3 in the reply filed on 12 March 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 4-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12 March 2026.
Priority
The instant application is a 371 National Stage of PCT/JP2021/043986, filed 30 November 2021.
The instant application claims benefit of foreign application JP 2020-199800, filed 1 December 2020.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 27 June 2023, 8 August 2023, and 5 September 2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kameda et al (US 4,780,421; previously cited).
Regarding claim 1, Kameda teaches a biomolecule structure detection probe, wherein a specific binding substance having a specific binding activity to a biomolecule structure is linked to a labeling substance via a linker including a disulfide bond (Abstract; Col. 2, Ln. 54-67: label is conjugated to the desired specifically reactive component through a cleavable bond; Col. 3, Ln. 41-48: the substance specifically reactive with the analyte may be an antibody; Col. 4, Ln. 59-64: the cleavable bond of the invention may be used to conjugate a label to the substance specifically reactive with the analyte; Col. 6, Ln. 29-33: the cleavable bond may be a disulfide bond).
Regarding claim 2, Kameda teaches the biomolecule detection probe wherein the specific binding substance is an antibody (Ln. 41-48: the substance specifically reactive with the analyte may be an antibody).
Regarding claim 3, Kameda teaches the biomolecule structure detection probe wherein the labeling substance is a fluorescent dye (Col. 4, Ln. 49-56; Col. 3, Ln. 30-37; the label may be a fluorescent dye).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELLIS LUSI whose telephone number is (571)270-0694. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8am-6pm ET.
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/ELLIS FOLLETT LUSI/Examiner, Art Unit 1677
/CHRISTOPHER L CHIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1677
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