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/Restriction
Applicant’s election, without traverse, of Group I (claims 1-10) in the reply filed on Oct. 9, 2025, to the restriction requirement dated Aug. 15, 2025, is hereby acknowledged. The election of the species “organometallic” is also acknowledged.
Accordingly, claims 1-10 have been examined in the instant Office action, whereas claims 11-18 of Group II, have been withdrawn from consideration but remain pending in the present application.
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.
Claims 16-26 and 31-33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(1) as anticipated by Zhao (US 2013/0101516 A1 to Zhao, published April 25, 2013).
Zhao discloses surface-crosslinked micelle (SCM) particles, and methods of making/using them wherein the SCM particles can be used to prepare metal nanoparticles or used in catalytic reactions, wherein the micelles are prepared from amphiphiles that can self-assemble through hydrophobic interactions among the hydrophobic groups, wherein the particles can be formed so that the amphiphiles encapsulate cargo molecules, such as a catalyst (abstract; [0003]; [0010]; [0013]; [0128]; and [0132] of Zhao). An organic particle can be prepared that comprises surface crosslinked non-polymeric organic amphiphiles, wherein polar head groups of the amphiphiles are covalently crosslinked to each other at the surface of the particle through functional groups, and tail groups of the amphiphiles are arranged toward the interior of the particle (encapsulated); and wherein the particle can be water-soluble ([0010 to [0013] of Zhao). The amphiphiles can further comprise alkenyl or thiol functional groups ([0014] of Zhao).
Zhao further discloses that the catalyst can contain an organometallic compound such as palladium, copper or rhodium (Figures 12, 13 and 19; [0037]; [0096]; [0120]; [0127]; [0143]; [0144]; and [0146] of Zhao). The hydrophobic organometallic catalyst can be entrapped (encapsulated) within the crosslinked micelles/particles ([0293]; and [0300] to [0307] of Zhao). The “cargo molecules can contain a palladium catalyst ([0120]; and [0307] of Zhao).
As to dependent claims 9 and 10, these claims recite an intended future use of the catalyst of parent claim 1. A recitation of an intended future use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Thus, the instant claims are anticipated by Zhao.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8 are objected to as dependent upon rejected base claim 1 but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Zhao does not teach or suggest the organometallic component of its catalyst/particles containing dimethyl palladium (II) and a nitrogen ligand, in accordance with present dependent claim 5. Nor does Zhao disclose its catalyst containing the functionalized amphiphile compound (1) depicted in dependent claim 7 or the non-polar tail of the structure chemical formulas (2) and (3) as depicted in dependent claim 8.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN J FIGUEROA whose telephone number is (571)272-8916. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 am -6:00 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOSEPH DEL SOLE can be reached on 571-272-1130. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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.
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/JOHN J FIGUEROA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763
January 24, 2026