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 .
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.
Priority
This is a U.S. Application that claims priority to foreign application No. CN2023110919647 filed 08/28/2023.
Claim Status
Claims 1-14 are pending and are under examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 7-8 and 10 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 7 and 10, the phrase "any one of claim 1" renders the claims indefinite because it is not clear of what the phrase is referring to because there is only one claim to be referred to, thereby rendering the scope of the claims unascertainable. Thus, claims 7-8 and 10 are deemed indefinite.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-6, 9 and 11-14 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowing claims 1-6, 9 and 11-14:
While the prior teaches or suggests using lateral flow devices or test strips to test for human chorionic gonadotropin from saliva, there is no prior art that teaches or suggests the unique combination of the following components to make the sample pad treatment solution in 100 mL for a test strip for detecting human chorionic gonadotropin in saliva: 1.0 g to 1.5 g of Tris, 0.3 g to 0.8 g of casein, 50 μL to 100 μL of Tween-20, 0.5 g to 1.5 g of NaCl, 0.15 g to 0.2 g of dodecyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (DTAB), 0.8 g to 1.2 g of 4-nonylphenyl-polyethylene glycol, 3.5 g to 4.0 g of borax, 0.5 g to 1 g of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), 3 g to 5 g of dithiothreitol (DTT), and 0.8 g to 2 g of L-cysteine.
The closest prior art is discussed below:
Ma et al. (CN106370871 A) teaches a test strip for detecting human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in saliva (Abstract; [0002]; [0044]).
Ma does not teach the unique combination of the following components to make the sample pad treatment solution in 100 mL for a test strip for detecting human chorionic gonadotropin in saliva: 1.0 g to 1.5 g of Tris, 0.3 g to 0.8 g of casein, 50 μL to 100 μL of Tween-20, 0.5 g to 1.5 g of NaCl, 0.15 g to 0.2 g of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), 0.8 g to 1.2 g of 4-nonylphenyl-polyethylene glycol, 3.5 g to 4.0 g of borax, 0.5 g to 1 g of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), 3 g to 5 g of dithiothreitol (DTT), and 0.8 g to 2 g of L-cysteine.
Conclusion
Claims 1-6, 9 and 11-14 are allowed.
Claims 7-8 and 10 are not allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMAR RAMADAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0754. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gregory Emch can be reached at (571) 272-8149. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OMAR RAMADAN/Examiner, Art Unit 1678
/GREGORY S EMCH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1678
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