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
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 11-20 (Group III) in the reply filed on 12/19/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions of Group I and II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/19/2025.
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.
Claim(s) 11-15, 17-18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Nelson et al (WO2020/257206).
Nelson sets forth protein-based resins for additive manufacturing—see title. Nelson teaches a biocompatible 3D-printed bioplastic structure using a photopolymerizable protein resin by applying light in an effective wavelength to the resin to stiffen the resin into a crosslinked hydrogel structure. The crosslinked hydrogel structure is photocured to achieve additional stiffness and strength, and can be heat-treated to transition the hydrogel structure into a bioplastic structure—see [0007]- [0008].
Said method utilizes a photo-crosslinkable BSA-methacrylate (BSA-MA), comonomers, and photoinitiator, wherein BSA is bovine serum albumin (a globular protein) –see [0035]. Nelson sets forth obtaining the BSA-methacrylate by reacting BSA with methacrylic anhydride in an aqueous solution—see [0040] and figure 2. Said BSA-methacrylate is combed with a photoreactive comonomer or a photoinitiator, resulting in a photo-curable proteinaceous resin— [0042]. Said proteinaceous resin can be partially photo-cured in printing, e.g. by sequentially exposing the photopolymerizable protein resin to irradiation in a pattemwise manner one or more times to obtain said 3D printed bioplastic—see [0035]. Nelson sets forth said photoreactive comonomers are water-soluble acrylated and methacrylated comonomers include, but are not limited to: Hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA), N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM), polyethylene glycol) acrylate (PEG-A), hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), acrylamide, and dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA)—see [0035]. The photoinitiator include Tris(2,2'-bipyridyl) dichloromthenium (II) hexahydrate (Ru(bpy)) and lithium phenyl 2,4,6-trimethyl benzoyl phosphate. Nelson, additionally, sets forth the photo-curable proteineous resin can include an additional radical generator, such as sodium persulfate (SPS) or ammonium persulfate (APS)—see [0035].
Regarding claims 11-15, 17-18 and 20: Nelson sets forth obtaining said BSA-methacrylate by reacting BSA (claim 12—BSA is bovine serum albumin) with methacrylic anhydride in an aqueous solution—see [0040] and figure 2. It is deemed the BSA-methacrylate anticipates applicant’s globular protein [0034] having an active site, wherein the active site is the (meth) acrylate group (claims 17-18)—see [0035] and [0051]. To prepare said photoreactive resin Nelson sets forth compositions comprising 30 wt.% BSA-MA; 5 wt.% polyethylene glycol diacrylate (claim 13 and 17-18); 0.3 g of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (claim 13 and 17-18); 120 pL of 1 mM Ru(bpy) solution (claim 15) and 120 pL of 10 mM SPS (claim 15)—see [0042]. Said photoreactive resin composition (hydrogel composition) is then printed using a 3D printer to obtain a 3D bioplastic article (claim 20) which is subjected to a heat treatment step to air dried after the photo-curing step and placed in the 120 °C oven for 180 minutes (claim 20) --see [0044]- [0046]. Nelson sets forth obtained printed article is dehydrated by freeze-drying (lyophilized) and then swelled/submerged in water and then freeze dried once again, wherein water is a hydrogen bonding agent—see [0046]. The photoreactive resin composition is deemed to anticipate claim 1, wherein the BSA-MA is a globular protein having an active site (acrylate functionality); the polyethylene glycol diacrylate corresponds to the functionalization agent in claim 17 and 18 and water is deemed to be the hydrogen bonding agent—see [0046].
Regarding claim 14: Nelson sets forth the printing method is a stereolithography method of printing, wherein said method uses a vat tank to hold the resin composition—see figure 1, [0002] and [0033].
Claim(s) 11-13, and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Ferracci et al (ACS Appl. Bio Mater. 1/2020).
Ferracci sets forth photocurable methacrylated albumin hydrogels—see title.
Regarding claims 11-13 and 17-18: Ferracci sets forth a method of first functionalizing bovine serum albumin (a globular protein) by reacting in an aqueous solution methacrylic anhydride (functionalization agent, claims 17-18) with bovine serum albumin to obtain a methacrylated-bovine serum albumin (MA-BSA, claim 11 and 12)—see page 921, right col. materials and method section and Figure 1 on page 923. Ferracci sets forth encapsulating HuH-7.5 cells in a hydrogel obtained by reacting the obtained MA-BSA with polyethylene glycol diacrylate (claims 11 and 13) in the presence of Irgacure 2959 (2-hydroxy-4′-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-2-methylpropiophenone) (claims 11 and 15) and the Huh-7.5 cells then exposing to UV radiation to obtain a crosslinked hydrogel encapsulating Huh-7.5 cells—see page 923, last paragraph in left col. to right col. first paragraph. Ferracci sets forth dehydrating said hydrogel and swell/rehydrating the crosslinked hydrogel in water, wherein water is a hydrogen bonding agent (claim 11).
Claim(s) 11-13 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Abbate et al (Enz. And Micro. Tech, 2011).
Abbate sets forth photocrosslinked bovine serum albumin hydrogels.
Regarding claims 11-13 and 17-18: Abbate teaches one-pot photopolymerization of chemically modified protein in the presence of N, N′-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as cross-linking agent under mild conditions.
Abbate sets forth the methacrylated albumins are prepared by treating the protein with different amounts of methacrylic anhydride (MAN) with different degrees of substitution (DS) of primary amines quantified via trinitrobenzesulfonic acid (TNBS) colorimetric assay. Hydrogels are obtained in a diluted buffered solution of the modified protein and MBA in the e presence of 1-[4-(2-hydroxyethoxy) phenyl]-2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-propan-1-one (Irgacure 2959) as the radical initiator by exposure UV radiation—see abstract; section 2.2 page 131; section 2.4 page 131 and scheme 1 and table 2 on page 132. Abbate additionally sets forth dehydrating said obtained hydrogel and rehydrating/swelling in water, wherein water is a hydrogen bonding agent—see section 3 on page 132 and right column 2nd paragraph on page 132.
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--scheme 1 on page 132.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16 is 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. Nelson fails to set forth tannic acid as a hydrogen bonding agent and a search of the prior art has fails to set said limitation forth prior to the effective filing date of the instantly claimed invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Song et al (Indus. Crops and Prod., 2017) sets forth methacrylated-soy protein (a globular protein) obtained by functionalizing the nitrogen surface groups of the soy protein with methacrylic anhydride to obtain a functionalized macromer which is then reacted acrylic acid in the presence of potassium persulfate to obtain a superabsorbent hydrogel. The primary differences being Song does not teach irradiation or the addition of a photoinitiator or heating the hydrogel to obtain a bioplastic.
Theodorou et al (Nat. Comm, 2020) sets forth a photoinduced living radical polymerization (photo-ATRP) method of functionalizing bovine serum albumin by grafting acrylic monomers, such as acrylamide (Am), oligo (ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate and 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate, DMAEMA onto bromine functionalized bovine serum albumin (Br-BSA) in the presence of a photo-ATRP initiator (Cu (II)/Me₆TREN). Differences being the obtained product is a hydrogel and Theodorou does not set forth rehydrating in the presence of a hydrogen bonding agent. Additionally, a photo-ATRP initiator is not a photoinitiator which generate radicals by bond cleavage or bimolecular reactions, the Cu (II)/Me₆TREN system acts as a photocatalyst for controlled radical polymerization (CRP). Theodorou does not set forth heating the hydrogel to obtain a bioplastic.
US 12/180,374 on the PTO-892 is a family member of WO2020/257206 (cited above).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANZA L MCCLENDON whose telephone number is (571)272-1074. The examiner can normally be reached 8-5.
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/SANZA L. McCLENDON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
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