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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Drawings
The drawings filed on 04/30/2025, has been accepted for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Denomme et al. (2016/0299134 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Denomme discloses a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor (figs. 1-37C) comprising:
a surface is included in (SPR/LSPR sensor surfaces 100), wherein the surface comprises a solid support (104) [pars. 0068, 0125] supports and a metal is a metal coating disposed thereon, wherein the metal the metal coating [pars. 0008-0015, 0100, 0122 and 0132] comprises
a linker disposed thereon is included in a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) the linker comprising (i) one or more anchors for coupling the linker to the metal, (ii) one or more spacers (i.e. carboxyl, methyl, or polyethylene glycol (PEG)), and (iii) one or more attachment sites, wherein an attachment site of the one or more attachment sites comprises SAMs produced a functional group configured to bind to a ligand (see abstract; nanoparticles being functionalized with one or more capture molecules) [pars. 0004, 0089, 0093, 0100, 0105, 0150 and 0122].
For the purposes of clarity, “linkers” and/or “spacers” are defined in terms of what linker/spacer is/are and/or functional equivalency considering the BRI consistent with instant specification. Additionally, an amino group is a functional group that consists of a single nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms. If it is attached to an organic compound (contains carbon), it is classified as an amine. The most common amine is an amino acid.
As to claims 2-11, Denomme also discloses a structure that is use in the SPR sensor (figs. 1-37C) that is implementing limitations such as, wherein the SPR sensor [pars. 0008-15] is a localized plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensor (claim 2); wherein the linker that is included in a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) further comprises one or more peptide (i.e. carboxyl [par. 0095, 0134]), or amide bonds [pars. 0090](claim 3); wherein the one or more attachment sites is positioned terminally and/or between the one or more spacers (i.e. carboxyl, methyl, or polyethylene glycol (PEG)) [par. 0095, 0134] (claim 4); wherein each of the one or more attachment sites is positioned terminally (claim 5); wherein each of the one or more attachment sites is positioned between the one or more spacers (i.e. carboxyl, methyl, or polyethylene glycol (PEG)) [par. 0095, 0134] (claim 6); wherein the functional group is a carboxyl group or amine group (i.e. carboxyl, methyl, or polyethylene glycol (PEG)) [par. 0095, 0134] (claim 7); wherein the one or more attachment sites comprises an amino acid [par. 0095, 0089, 0134] (claim 8); wherein the one or more attachment sites is an amino acid inherently selected from the group consisting of: aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and lysine because this are the types of amino acid [par. 0095, 0089, 0134] (claim 9); and wherein each of the one or more spacers is the same and/or is different (i.e. carboxyl, methyl, or polyethylene glycol (PEG)) [par. 0095, 0089, 0134] (claims 10 and 11).
For the purposes of clarity, an amino group is a functional group that consists of a single nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms. If it is attached to an organic compound (contains carbon), it is classified as an amine. The most common amine is an amino acid.
As to claims 12-20, Denomme also discloses a structure that is use in the SPR sensor (figs. 1-37C) that is implementing limitations such as, wherein the one or more spacers is one or more polyalkylene glycol (PAG) molecules [pars. 0069, 0095, 0089, 0134] (claim 12); wherein each of the one or more PAG molecules individually comprises (i.e. from about 2 to about 20 monomers)(claim 13); wherein each of the one or more PAG molecules is individually selected from the group consisting of: polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyoxyethylene (POE), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polybutylene glycol (PBG), amine-PEG-carboxyl (NPC), and any combination thereof molecules [pars. 0069, 0095, 0089, 0134] (claim 14); wherein the anchor comprises a thiol group [pars. 0069, 0095, 0089, 0134] (claim 15); wherein the anchor comprises a sulfur containing amino acid [pars. 0069, 0095, 0089, 0134] (claim 16); wherein the metal is a metal layer or metal nanoparticles [pars. 0008-10, 0018, 0027 and 0080-81] (claim 17); wherein the metal comprises gold [pars. 0069, 0094-95, 0089, 0134](claim 18); wherein the one or more anchors comprises a thiol group, the one or more spacers is one or more polyalkylene glycol (PAG) molecules, and the functional group is a carboxyl group or an amine group [pars. 0069, 0095, 0089, 0134] (claim 19); wherein the one or more anchors comprises a sulfur containing amino acid, the one or more spacers is one or more polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules, and the one or more attachment sites comprises one or more glutamic acid amino acids [pars. 0069, 0095, 0089, 0134] (claim 20).
For the purposes of clarity, an amino group is a functional group that consists of a single nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms. If it is attached to an organic compound (contains carbon), it is classified as an amine. The most common amine is an amino acid.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hill et al. (2004/0263853 A1, Applicant cited reference).
Regarding claim 1-2, Hill discloses a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor (figs. 1a-3) is a localized plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensor (claim 2) based on association with metal particles/layer (see abstract) comprising:
a surface is included in (i.e. four SPR sensor surfaces 100), wherein the surface comprises a solid support a prism 4 supports and a metal is a metal coating disposed thereon [pars. 0013-15 and 0018], wherein the metal the metal coating comprises
a linker an intermediate layer (i.e. an organic intermediate layer) and/or a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) disposed thereon the linker [pars. 0018, 0096-98], comprising
(i) one or more anchors [par. 0096, 0097-98] for coupling the linker to the metal,
(ii) one or more spacers [pars. 0096-98], and
(iii) one or more attachment sites, wherein an attachment site of the one or more attachment sites comprises SAMs produced a functional group configured to bind to a ligand [pars. 0039-40, 0088-0096, 0097-0100].
As to claims 3-11, Hill also discloses a structure that is use in the SPR sensor (figs. 1-3) that is implementing limitations such as, wherein the linker the intermediate layer (i.e. an organic intermediate layer) and/or the linker comprises a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) [par. 0096] further comprises one or more peptide or amide bonds [par. 0041-42, 0044-45, 0100](claim 3); wherein the one or more attachment sites is positioned terminally and/or between the one or more spacers [par. 0096] (claim 4); wherein each of the one or more attachment sites is positioned terminally (claim 5); wherein each of the one or more attachment sites is positioned between the one or more spacers (i.e. polyethylene ) [pars. 0033, 0050, 0096-97] (claim 6); wherein the functional group is a carboxyl group or amine group [par. 0045, 0083] (claim 7); wherein the one or more attachment sites comprises an amino acid [par. 0095, 0089, 0100] (claim 8); wherein the one or more attachment sites is an amino acid inherently selected from the group consisting of: aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and lysine because this are the types of amino acid [par. 0045, 0095, 0089, 0100] (claim 9); and wherein each of the one or more spacers is the same and/or is different (i.e. polyethylene) [par. 0095, 0089, 0100] (claims 10 and 11).
For the purposes of clarity, an amino group is a functional group that consists of a single nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms. If it is attached to an organic compound (contains carbon), it is classified as an amine. The most common amine is an amino acid. Additionally, glutamic acid is an amino acid.
As to claims 12-20, Hill also discloses a structure that is use in the SPR sensor (figs. 1-3) that is implementing limitations such as, wherein the one or more spacers/separating means a type of polymer is one or more polyalkylene glycol (PAG) PAGs are a type of polymer molecules [pars. 0028-30, 0096, 0098-99] (claim 12); wherein each of the one or more PAG molecules individually comprises (i.e. from about 2 to about 20 monomers)(claim 13); wherein each of the one or more PAG PAGs are a type of polymer molecules is individually selected from the group consisting of: polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyoxyethylene (POE), polypropylene glycol (PPG), polybutylene glycol (PBG), amine-PEG-carboxyl (NPC), and any combination thereof molecules [pars. 0033, 0050, 0098-99] (claim 14); wherein the anchor comprises a thiol group [pars. 0096-97] (claim 15); wherein the anchor comprises a sulfur containing amino acid [pars. 0100] (claim 16); wherein the metal is a metal layer or metal nanoparticles [pars. 0015, 0031] (claim 17); wherein the metal comprises gold [pars. 0015, 0018] (claim 18); wherein the one or more anchors comprises a thiol group, the one or more spacers is one or more polyalkylene glycol (PAG) PAGs are a type of polymer molecules, and the functional group is a carboxyl group or an amine group [pars. 0028-30, 0096, 0098-99] (claim 19); and wherein the one or more anchors comprises a sulfur containing amino acid, the one or more spacers is one or more polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules, and the one or more attachment sites comprises one or more glutamic acid amino acids [pars. 0028-30, 0045, 0096, 0098-100] (claim 20).
For the purposes of clarity, an amino group is a functional group that consists of a single nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms. If it is attached to an organic compound (contains carbon), it is classified as an amine. The most common amine is an amino acid. Additionally, glutamic acid is an amino acid.
Additional Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references listed in the attached form PTO-892 teach of other prior art surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Isiaka Akanbi whose telephone number is (571) 272-8658. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tarifur R. Chowdhury can be reached on (571) 272-2287. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 703-872-9306.
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/ISIAKA O AKANBI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2877
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