Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/157,098

METHODS TO ENHANCE THE MECHANICAL RECYCLABILITY OF POLYMERS WITH SELF-HEALING PROPERTIES

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jan 20, 2023
Examiner
NGUYEN, HA S
Art Unit
1766
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Saudi Arabian Oil Company
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
57%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 4m
To Grant
36%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 57% of resolved cases
57%
Career Allow Rate
341 granted / 599 resolved
-8.1% vs TC avg
Minimal -21% lift
Without
With
+-21.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
47 currently pending
Career history
646
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.1%
-38.9% vs TC avg
§103
39.2%
-0.8% vs TC avg
§102
25.4%
-14.6% vs TC avg
§112
20.2%
-19.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 599 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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 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) 1, 4, 5, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Razzaq et al., “Oligo(u-pentadecalactone) decorated magnetic nanoparticles,” Journal of Materials Chemistry, vol. 22, pp. 9237-9243 (2012), (hereinafter Razzaq-1). Regarding Claims 1, 4, 5, Razzaq-1 teaches a core-shell particle with a magnetite core and a shell of oligo(w-pentadecalactone) oligomers with a Mn of 1300 to 3300 g/mol (See abstract and page 9237-9239), which meets the claimed crosslinking agent cited in claims 1, 4, and 5. Claim(s) 1, 4, 5, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Razzaq et al., “Multifunctional Hybrid Nanocomposites with Magnetically Controlled Reversible Shape–Memory Effect,” Advanced Materials, vol. 25, pp. 95730-5733 (2013), (hereinafter Razzaq-2). Regarding Claims 1, 4, 5, Razzaq-2 teaches a core-shell particle with a magnetite core and a shell of oligo(w-pentadecalactone) oligomers in Figure 1 PNG media_image1.png 85 142 media_image1.png Greyscale (page 5731), and further teaches a composite obtained by mixing the above ODPL@MNP with a three armed oligo(ω-pentadecalactone) (3AOPDL), and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and crosslinked (See Figure 1 page 5731 and page 5733), which meets the claimed crosslinking agent cited in claims 1, 4, and 5. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2, 3, and 6, are 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art is Razzaq-1 and Razzaq-2m as cited above and incorporated herein. Neither Razzaq-1 and Razzaq-2 teaches the core is a silica particle, the claimed size range and/or the claimed molecular weight range. The next closest prior art is US 2014/0264822 A1 to Horikiri et al. (hereinafter Horikiri). Horikiri teaches a lactone-modified silica filler (para 36), wherein the lactone is a caprolactone (para 40). Horikiri does not teach wherein the shell is a polymacrolactone. Claims 7-19 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The closest prior art is US 2022/0049041 A1 to Alamri et al. (hereinafter Alamri). Alamri teaches a product of a crosslinking glycidyl methacrylate grafted polyethylene with a polymacrolactone (See abstract). Alamri does not teach core particle with a shell of a polymacrolactone. Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HA S NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7395. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, Flex schedule 7:30am-3:45pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Randy Gulakowski can be reached at (571)272-1302. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /HA S NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 20, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 29, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
57%
Grant Probability
36%
With Interview (-21.3%)
3y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 599 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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