Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 06, 2026
Application No. 18/535,453

STABILIZING OXYGEN IN A COMPOSITION

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Dec 11, 2023
Examiner
KAUR, GURPREET
Art Unit
1759
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Instrumentation Laboratory Company
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
65%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
9m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 65% — above average
65%
Career Allowance Rate
509 granted / 782 resolved
At TC average
Strong +36% interview lift
Without
With
+36.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
806
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
§103
52.9%
+12.9% vs TC avg
§102
17.9%
-22.1% vs TC avg
§112
22.0%
-18.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 782 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Status of the Claims 1. Claims 1-20 are pending. Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 2. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6/10/2026 has been entered. 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. 3. Claim(s) 1-5 and 10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Conlon et al. (US 2022/0154244). Claims 1-4. Conlon et al. teach composition comprising: a solution for calibration or control of an electrochemical sensor (control/calibrant solution for creatinine sensor; [0035] and claims 33 and 42), the solution comprising: one or more analytes having a predefined concentration in the composition; and one or more quinolones (solution comprising EBCB such as fluoroquinolone such as levofloxacin; [0015][0032] wherein the solution is control/calibrant solution which is comprised of predefined concentration of creatine; [0056]). Conlon et al. teach the second EBCB could be Levofloxacin or Polymxin B or Polymyxin E and the concentration of Polymxin B or Polymyxin E is 20 to 100 mg/L [0024][0031][0032]. Conlon et al. do not teach concentration of quinolones/Levofloxacin is 60 milligrams/liter (mg/L) to 120 mg/L in the composition. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to try using Levofloxacin in same concentration range i.e. 20 to 100 mg/L because both Levofloxacin and Polymxin B/E are both used as second EBCB’s and therefore using Levofloxacin in the same concentration range as Polymxin B or Polymyxin E would yield similar results with reasonable expectation. Claim 5. Conlon et al. teach the solution further comprising: an aqueous liquid (the control/calibrant solution is comprised of aqueous solution; [0082]). Claims 10 and 11. Conlon et al. teach a container holding the composition of claim 1 (bag comprised of calibrant/control solution [0075]). Claim 12. Conlon et al. teach container comprises a cartridge (cartridge comprises control solution [0099]. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 6-9 and 20 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. Claims 13-19 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the cited prior art, Conlon et al. teach one or more containers comprising biocidal agent such as Levofloxacin in one or more control solutions which is comprised of known concentration of creatine [0075][0056]. Conlon et al. do not teach liquids in different ones of the multiple containers having different concentration of the one or more analytes. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GURPREET KAUR whose telephone number is (571)270-7895. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6. 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, Curtis Mayes can be reached at 571-272-1234. 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. /GURPREET KAUR/ Primary Examiner Art Unit 1759
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Sep 10, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Dec 10, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 13, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jun 05, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jun 08, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jun 10, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jun 12, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jun 25, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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ACETONE SENSOR AND ASSOCIATED METHODS
2y 11m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12693256
ANALYTE SENSORS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVING INTERFERENT REJECTION AND LONGEVITY
2y 4m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12687515
GAS SENSOR AND CASING FOR CONTAINING SENSOR ELEMENT
3y 4m to grant Granted Jul 21, 2026
Patent 12662577
TEMPERATURE-INSENSITIVE MEMBRANE MATERIALS AND ANALYTE SENSORS CONTAINING THE SAME
3y 2m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12653430
INTERFERENCE REJECTION MEMBRANES COMPRISING CROSSLINKED POLY(VINYL ALCOHOL) MATRICES FOR IMPLANTABLE GLUCOSE SENSORS
4y 7m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
65%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+36.2%)
3y 5m (~9m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 782 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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