TECHNOLOGIES

Areas of Available Technologies

Health and Life Sciences - Biotechnology

Accountability - Outcomes Assessment

Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness

Nanotechnology - Materials Sciences:

 

02-002: Improved Method for Fabrication of Microfluidic Devices Allowing Functional Tuning

Landers, Augustine, Hughes, Ferrance, Polefrone

WO 2004/007582  

The invention is directed to improve silica-based microchip devices and methods of manufacturing such devices and focuses on the further development of polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) as a new substrate material for microfluidics. The resulting devices will be easy and inexpensive to manufacture using standard mass production techniques. The device should also be as effective as current glass microchip technology at separating a variety of biomolecules. In order to meet this requirement, the surface of the microfluidic channel must be nonbiofouling, and therefore must be extremely smooth and well passivated.

This technology enables volume production of high quality plastic devices because the necessary smooth surface is created first on a silicon "master" using crystallographic etching, and then transferred to the PMMA device using hot embossing. The bonding procedure using this polymer requires a substantially reduced annealing temperature (a few hundred degrees centigrade) and can be used to bond to a variety of substrates including glass, plastic, silicon, fused silica, or quartz. Furthermore, this bonding procedure could allow for hybrid devices to be created yielding microchips with different properties. For example, glass/silicon or glass/plastic devices become feasible and even glass/glass microchips, where one type of glass might be more amenable to etching while another type of glass might be better suited as a coverplate due to better optical properties.

Miniaturization of analytical methods and instrumentation for clinical applications is an area of growing interest. Microchips have been developed for many applications in order to minimize both the time and space required to perform processes such as drug delivery and clinical diagnostic procedures. Microchips have thus been developed for a number of different applications including solid phase extraction, PCR amplification of purified DNA, and electrophoretic separations. However, the range of uses of the microchips has been inhibited by the properties of the glass or plastic substrates for the microchips. The disadvantages inherent using a glass substrate includes limited control of electroosmotic flow (EOF) and the need for high bonding temperatures. Using a plastic substrate, in many cases, also results in low EOF and poor optical characteristics, including intrinsic fluorescence.

The current invention is an improved method for developing microfluidic devices coated with a novel polymeric material. This UV transparent coating solves many of the problems associated with the fabrication of microchips. This method allows the user to f ine-tune the EOF generated in the microchip for the specific sample analyzed. In addition, this coating could provide improved fluid dynamics and reduce the absorption of analytes and buffer components to the surface.

Previous to this invention, such glass/glass hybrids were difficult, if not impossible, to fabricate. By adding this novel polymer coating to uncharged plastic substrates, an EOF can be generated allowing the production of cheaper, disposable microchips. This novel method has the potential to play a large role in the future exploitation of microchips for both clinical and research diagnostics.

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97-99 Production, Cloning, Expression

 

97-001: Production of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate in transformed escherichia coli.

Dennis

U.S. patent 5,334, 520

The present invention is generally related to the production of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) using Escherichia coli (E. coli) which has been genetically transformed by a vector carrying the genes coding for the PHB biosynthetic pathway and, more particularly, to the more efficient production of PHB in transformed E. coli.

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Method of production of poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoate copolymers

Dennis, Slater

U.S. Patent 5,371, 002

The invention related to recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) technology and, more particularly, to a process whereby poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA) copolymers can be synthesized in a recombinant host strain containing the poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) biosynthetic genes of Alcaligenes eutrophus.

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Cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of the Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate biosynthetic pathway

Dennis

U.S. Patent 5,518,907

Genes coding for poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate were removed from Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 and cloned into Escherichia coli. Some of the clones produced PHB to 90% of the cell weight.

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Method of production of poly-.beta.-hydroxyalkanoate copolymers

Dennis, Slater,Rhie

U.S. Patent 5,891,686

The present invention relates generally to the production of polymers in prokaryotic host cells, and more specifically, to the production of poly-.beta.-hydroxyalkanoates.

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Methods of making polyhydroxyalkanoates comprising 4-hydroxybutyrate monomer units

Dennis, Valentin

U.S. patent 6,117,658

The present invention provides constructs and methods for the production of PHA comprising 4HB monomer units, thereby providing biodegradable plastics having superior properties.

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90-001: Method for the improved production and recovery of poly-.beta.-hydroxybutyrate from transformed Escherichia coli

Dennis

U.S. patent 5,512, 456

The present invention is generally related to the production of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) using Escherichia coli (E. coli) which has been genetically transformed by a vector carrying the genes coding for the PHB biosynthetic pathway and, more particularly, to the more efficient production and recovery of PHB from transformed E. coli.

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our MISSION... To promote innovation, enhance research by connecting inventors and industry, and foster economic development through protecting and commercializing intellectual property.

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