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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
1. The amendment filed on 07/30/2026 has been made of record and entered.
Specification, [0039] & [0041] have been amended.
Claim 1 has been canceled.
Claims 2-4 have been amended.
Claims 2-20 are currently pending in this application.
Status of Withdrawn Claim(s)
2. Claims 5-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention(s), there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 02/12/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 (Fourth Paragraph)
3. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 3 & 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
It is considered the instant claims are failing to further limit the steps of preparing Co3O4 nanozyme and step of preparing TiO2-x of claim 2. The process steps being recited in each of claim 2, 3, & 4 are different from each other so they are of different embodiments and do not appear to further limit each other.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Response to Applicants’ Arguments
4. Applicants’ remarks submitted with the amendment on 07/30/2026 have been fully reviewed, the arguments are not deemed persuasive because of the following reasons.
The rejection made under 112 (Fourth Paragraph) over claims 3 & 4 is maintained because the limitations of the process of preparing Co3O4 nanozyme being recited in claim 3 are already recited in step (b) and step (c) of claim 2. Furthermore, the process steps (1), (2), and (3) being recited in claim 4 for preparing the surface oxygen vacancy doped TiO2-x nanosheet are different from the process step (a) recited in claim 2. It is considered the process steps (1), (2), and (3) recited in claim 4 are of another (different) embodiment and does not further limit the process step (a) of claim 2.
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claim 2 is allowable over the prior art made of record. A statement of reason(s) for allowance of the claimed subject matter can be found in the last O.A. (dated 05/06/2026).
*Claims 3 & 4 would be allowed if the rejection under 35 U.S.C 112 (4th Para) is overcome.
6. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicants are reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Conclusion
7. Claims 2-20 are pending. Claim 1 is allowed. Claims 3 & 4 are rejected. Claims 5-20 are withdrawn.
Contacts
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner CAM N. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1357. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F (8:30 am – 5:00 pm) at alternative worksite or at cam.nguyen@uspto.gov.
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, Anthony Zimmer, can be reached at 571-270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Cam N. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736
/CNN/
September 27, 2026
