Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/839,249

Single Waveform, Continuous Squarewave Voltammetry for Optimal Calibration Free Sensing

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Aug 16, 2024
Priority
Feb 18, 2022 — provisional 63/311,704 +2 more
Examiner
KAUR, GURPREET
Art Unit
1759
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
University of Cincinnati
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
65%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 3m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 65% — above average
65%
Career Allowance Rate
515 granted / 790 resolved
At TC average
Strong +36% interview lift
Without
With
+35.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
815
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
§103
52.6%
+12.6% vs TC avg
§102
17.8%
-22.2% vs TC avg
§112
22.3%
-17.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 790 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION Status of the Claims 1. Claims 1,4-16 and 20-26 are pending. Claims 6,11-13 and 24-26 are withdrawn. Election/Restrictions 2. Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1,4,5,7-10,14-16 and 20-23 in the reply filed on 8/05/2026 is acknowledged. 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. 3. Claims 1,4,5,7-10,14-16 and 20-23 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. Claim 1 recites the limitation "the data samples" in limitation d. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 14 recites the limitation "the difference" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 22 recites the limitation "the data samples" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 23 recites the limitation "the redox peak current voltage" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 4,5,7-10,13-16,20 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph for being dependent on claim 1. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1, 4-5, 7-10,14-16 and 20-23 are allowed over the cited prior art. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the cited prior art, Plaxco et al. teach method of measuring concentration of target comprised of aptamer based sensor comprised of aptamer modified with methylene blue and upon binding to target, the reporter (methylene blue) increase the rate of electron transfer under applied square wave voltammetry wherein the applied voltage is comprised of stepping the potential from -0.1V to -0.3V and sampling the current every 10 µs [0011] and Fig. 3A). Plaxco et al. do not teach nor render obvious the limitation reciting a first data sample taken at a time point equivalent to which the change in redox tag current has the largest increase for a given increase in target concentration; a second data sample taken at a time point equivalent to which the change in redox tag current has the largest decrease for the given increase in target concentration; and a third data sample taken at a time point equivalent to which the change in redox tag current has the least change for the given increase in target concentration as recited in claim 1. 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

Aug 16, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
65%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+35.9%)
3y 5m (~1y 3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 790 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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