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.
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 1-20 are 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. A broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, claims 1, 10, 11, & 19 recites the broad recitation “about”, and the claim also recites “between” which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. For example, 43° is about 40°, however it is outside the range of 0° and 40°, therefore the approximation of the range is ambiguous. Use of a narrow numerical range that falls within a broader range in the same claim may render the claim indefinite when the boundaries of the claim are not discernible. Clarification is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7, 11-16, & 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yang CN 113670893.
With respect to claim 1, Yang teaches a method of evaluating an interaction between a first composition and a second composition, the method comprising the step of subjecting the interaction between the first composition “protein”/or “salt solution” and the second composition “salt solution”/or “protein” to Raman spectroscopy “Raman spectrum”, wherein the step of subjecting is performed at a temperature between 0 °C and 40 °C “room temperature” (pg. 10, ¶ 1-4).
With respect to claim 2 according to claim 1, Yang teaches the method wherein the first composition is comprised in an aqueous composition “ice water”, wherein the aqueous composition is a solution “salt solution” (pg. 10, ¶ 1-3).
With respect to claim 3 according to claim 2, Yang teaches the method wherein the aqueous composition is present at near physiological conditions “room temperature” (pg. 10, ¶ 1-4).
With respect to claim 4 according to claim 1, Yang teaches the method wherein the second composition is comprised in an aqueous composition “ice water”, wherein the aqueous composition is a solution “salt solution” (pg. 10, ¶ 1-3).
With respect to claim 5 according to claim 4, Yang teaches the method wherein the aqueous composition is present at near physiological conditions “room temperature” (pg. 10, ¶ 1-4).
With respect to claim 7 according to claim 1, Yang teaches the method wherein the first composition is an antibody and wherein the second composition is an antigen “coronavirus” “antibody antigen” (pg. 2, lines 40-42).
With respect to claim 11, Yang teaches the method of evaluating an interaction between a first biomolecule “protein” and a second biomolecule “salt”, the method comprising the step of subjecting the interaction between the first biomolecule and the second biomolecule to Raman spectroscopy “Raman spectrum” (pg. 10, ¶ 1-4),
wherein the step of subjecting is performed at a temperature between about 0 °C and about 40 °C “room temperature” (pg. 10, ¶ 1-4).
With respect to claim 12 according to claim 11, Yang teaches the method wherein the first biomolecule is selected from the group consisting of a protein (pg. 10, ¶ 1).
With respect to claim 13 according to claim 11, Yang teaches the method wherein the first biomolecule is comprised in an aqueous composition “ice water”, wherein the aqueous composition is a solution “salt solution” (pg. 10, ¶ 1-3).
With respect to claim 14 according to claim 13, Yang teaches the method wherein the aqueous composition is present at near physiological conditions “room temperature” (pg. 10, ¶ 1-4).
With respect to claim 15 according to claim 11, Yang teaches the method wherein the second biomolecule is comprised in an aqueous composition “ice water”, wherein the aqueous composition is a solution (pg. 10, ¶ 1-3).
With respect to claim 16 according to claim 11, Yang teaches the method wherein the aqueous composition is present at near physiological conditions “room temperature” (pg. 10, ¶ 1-4).
With respect to claim 20 according to claim 11, Yang teaches the method wherein the step of subjecting is performed at a temperature below 10 °C “-20 °C” (pg. 7, ¶ 7).
Claim(s) 1, 10, 11, & 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by LEE WO 2022182126.
With respect to claim 1, Lee teaches the method of evaluating an interaction between a first composition and a second composition, the method comprising the step of subjecting the interaction between the first composition “nucleotides” and the second composition “nucleic acid detection reagent” to Raman spectroscopy “Raman spectrum”, wherein the step of subjecting is performed at a temperature “5°C” between 0 °C and 40 °C (pg. 30, ¶ 7).
With respect to claim 10 according to claim 1, Lee teaches the method wherein the step of subjecting is performed at a temperature “5°C” 5 °C (pg. 30, ¶ 7).
With respect to claim 11, Lee teaches a method of evaluating an interaction between a first biomolecule and a second biomolecule, the method comprising the step of subjecting the interaction between the first biomolecule “nucleotides” and the second biomolecule “nucleic acid detection reagent” to Raman spectroscopy, wherein the step of subjecting is performed at a temperature “5°C” between about 0 °C and about 40 °C (pg. 30, ¶ 7).
With respect to claim 19 according to claim 11, Lee teaches method of claim 11 wherein the step of subjecting is performed at a temperature about 5 °C (pg. 30, ¶ 7).
Claim(s) 1, 8, 9, 17, & 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by paper of H.J. Ojeda-Galvan, “Application of Raman spectroscopy for the determination of proteins denaturation and amino acids decomposition temperature”, October 2022 hereafter Ojeda-Galvan.
With respect to claim 1, Ojeda-Galvan teaches a method of evaluating an interaction between a first composition and a second composition, the method comprising the step of subjecting the interaction between the “intermolecular interactions” (pg. 6, ¶ 1, lines 21-22) first composition “protein molecules” and the second composition “protein molecules” to Raman spectroscopy (fig 1A), wherein the step of subjecting is performed at a temperature “20° C” between about 0 °C and about 40 °C (pg. 3, col 1, ¶ 2, lines 1-2).
With respect to claim 8 according to claim 1, Ojeda-Galvan wherein the method is configured for evaluating “Each spectrum had an acquisition time” the interaction in less than 1 minute “20 sec” (pg. 2, col 2, ¶ 1, lines 6-8).
With respect to claim 9 according to claim 8, Ojeda-Galvan the method wherein the method does not substantially degrade “thermal denaturation” (abstract, lines 1-3) the first composition or the second composition, wherein the degrading is heat derived degradation.
With respect to claim 11, Ojeda-Galvan the method of evaluating an interaction between a first biomolecule and a second biomolecule, the method comprising the step of subjecting the interaction “intermolecular interactions” (pg. 6, ¶ 1, lines 21-22) between the first biomolecule “protein molecules” and the second biomolecule “protein molecules” to Raman spectroscopy, wherein the step of subjecting is performed at a temperature between 0 °C and 40 °C “20° C” (pg. 3, col 1, ¶ 2, lines 1-2).
With respect to claim 17 according to claim 11, Ojeda-Galvan the method wherein the method is configured for evaluating “Each spectrum had an acquisition time” the interaction in less than 1 minute “20 sec” (pg. 2, col 2, ¶ 1, lines 6-8).
With respect to claim 18 according to claim 17, Ojeda-Galvan the method wherein the method does not substantially degrade “thermal denaturation” (abstract, lines 1-3) the first composition or the second composition, wherein the degrading is heat derived degradation.
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.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang CN 113670893 in view of LIANG CN 101340902.
With respect to claim 6 according to claim 1, Yang does not teach the first composition is a drug and wherein the second composition is a drug target.
Liang, in the same field of endeavor as Yang of virology (abstract), teaches observing a drug TG21 (pg. 10, ¶ 2, line 1) and virus i.e. drug target to check a survival of an embryo at room temperature (pg. 10, ¶ 5, lines 4-8). At the time prior to the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to try to observe a drug and drug target via Yang’s Raman spectrometer to observe the efficacy of a drug for eliminating a virus.
Conclusion
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/MAURICE C SMITH/Examiner, Art Unit 2877