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 § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b ) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. With respect to independent claim 1, the term “a HLB value (a Griffin’s method)” is unclear. Although Griffin’s method is discussed in the specification, it is unclear if any particular calculation is required by the term “(a Griffin’s method)”. Furthermore, t he acronym HLB should be spelled out as “hydrophile-lipophile balance” so that the term is written as “a hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) value…” or “a hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) value obtained using Griffin’s method…” Claims 2-12 are rejected as being dependent on claim 1. Claim 5 recites the limitation "the constituent" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 6 recites the limitation "the constituent" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness . Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maejima (US 20190194376) in view of Im (US 20190233788). With respect to claim 1, Maejima discloses a surface treatment agent comprising a block copolymer. The block copolymer includes a temperature-responsive polymer, which is designated in the reference as the (A) block. See paragraphs [0061]-[0069]. The block copolymer additionally includes a (B) block and a (C) block, wherein the (B) block has cell-adhesive qualities and may include a functional group exhibiting acidity. See paragraphs [0029], [0033] and [0072] (“ Examples of the hydrophilic moieties in the repeating unit of each block include …carboxyl group moieties (—COOH) …[and] hydroxyl group moieties (—OH) )”. The (C) block is also characterized by cell-adhesive qualities and may include a monomer having a HLB value in a range of 0 to 5.0. For example, Maejima identifies in paragraphs [0097] and [0100] that the monomer in the (C) block may be styrene. It is unclear, however, if the monomers that comprise the (B) and (C) blocks of Maejima may be properly construed to read on the (A) and (B) monomers of the claimed cell-adhesive polymer. Im discloses a surface treatment agent comprising a block copolymer. Im states that the polymer may include (A) a monomer having a functional group exhibiting acidity, and (B) a monomer having a HLB value in a range of 0 to 5.0. See paragraph [0024] (“ the first monomer may be a monomer selected from the group consisting of aromatic vinyl-based monomers (e.g., divinylbenzene, vinyl benzoate, styrene , etc. ”, emphasis added) and paragraph [0025] (“ the second monomer may be a monomer…having an acidic functional group”). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to ensure that the Maejima surface treatment agent includes a cell-adhesive polymer including (A) a monomer having a functional group exhibiting acidity, and (B) a monomer having a HLB value in a range of 0 to 5.0. Maejima already teaches blocks of monomers having acidic functional groups and blocks of monomers (e.g., styrene) having a HLB value of 0 to 5.0. Im is further evidence that one of ordinary skill would know to combine these monomer blocks to form a block copolymer (in the event Maejima already does not teach this). Im teaches that such a configuration produces a surface treatment agent suitable for growing cell aggregates and releasing developed cell sheets from a support substrate. With respect to claim s 2 and 7 , Maejima and Im disclose the combination as described above. Maejima teaches in paragraphs [0038]-[0041] and [0109]-[0111] that the relative amounts of each block are wide ranging, and that the amount of cell-adhesive polymer may be 1 to 50 wt % with respect to the amount of temperature-responsive polymer. Along similar lines, the concentration of temperature-responsive polymer may be 0.1 to 5.0 wt % (“ The ratio of block (A) to the total amount of block (A), block (B), and block (C) constituting the block copolymer of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is 1 to 90 mol %”). With respect to claim 3 , Maejima and Im disclose the combination as described above. Maejima expressly states that the temperature-responsive polymer exhibits a lower critical solution temperature with respect to water in a range of 0 ° C to 50 ° C. See the Abstract. With respect to claim 4, Maejima and Im disclose the combination as described above. Maejima states in paragraph [0074] that each block, such as the temperature-responsive polymer of the (A) block, may include repeating units of three or more monomers (“e ach block constituting the block copolymer of the present invention is a copolymer comprising different monomers (monomer 1, monomer 2, etc.) ”). With respect to claims 5 and 6, Maejima and Im disclose the combination as described above. Maejima teaches in paragraphs [0029], [0033] and [0072] that the functional group exhibiting acidity may be a hydroxy group or a carobxy group having a pKa of -5.0 to 6.0 . With respect to claims 8 and 9, Maejima and Im disclose the combination as described above. Maejima states that the surface treatment agent is applied as a film having a thickness of 1 to 1,000 nm. See paragraphs [0134]-[0135]. With respect to claims 10-12, Maejima and Im disclose the combination as described above. Maejima further states in paragraphs [0012] and [0053] and throughout the reference that a film produced using the surface treatment agent is applied to a cell culture substrate. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The Sato (JP 2019085520), Tabata (JP 2018164412) and Sanyal (US 20130280803) references teach the state of the art regarding surface treatment agents for cell culture. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT NATHAN ANDREW BOWERS whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-8613 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 7am-5pm . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Michael Marcheschi can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 272-1374 . 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. /NATHAN A BOWERS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1799