Patents by Inventor Sean Hemmingsen

Sean Hemmingsen has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Strong PCR primers and primer cocktails
    Publication number: 20070072206
    Abstract: The invention disclosed relates to a PCR primer pair for amplication of chaperonin-60 (cpn60) targets having high G+C content and to a PCR primer “cocktail” to improve the representation of diverse sequences in chaperonin-60 based PCR product libraries derived from complex templates. In previous cpn60-based and 16S rDNA-based studies of mammalian intestinal microbiota, it has been observed that some classes of organisms such as the Actinobacteria, which are known through culture-based studies to be present in large numbers in these environments, are underrepresented or even absent from PCR product libraries. Using library sequence data and reference cpn60 sequence data from cpnDB, the chaperonin sequence database, we designed a pair of PCR primers which can be used alone for higher G+C content targets and, when used in combination with a previously developed degenerate, universal cpn60 primer pair, improve the representation of complex templates with high G+C content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2006
    Publication date: March 29, 2007
    Inventors: Janet Hill, Sean Hemmingsen, Jennifer Town
  • Methods of identifying, characterizing and comparing organism communities
    Publication number: 20050026188
    Abstract: Methods of characterizing and identifying microorganisms within a community of microorganisms are described. The methods include amplifying variable regions of the cpn60 gene of samples taken from the microbial community. Primers designed from the analysis of phylogenetic comparisons of nucleotide sequences of the variable regions of the cpn60 gene are also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2004
    Publication date: February 3, 2005
    Inventors: Andrew Van Kessel, Sean Hemmingsen, Janet Hill
  • Cpn60 targets for quantification of microbial species
    Publication number: 20040185446
    Abstract: cpn60 nucleic acid-based methods for determining microbial profiles are provided, as are cpn60 primers and probes for use in methods of the invention, and kits containing such primers and probes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2003
    Publication date: September 23, 2004
    Inventors: Alison M. Jones, W. Wade Robey, Sean Hemmingsen, Janet Hill, Andrew Van Kessel
  • Universal targets for species identification
    Patent number: 5989821
    Abstract: The present invention provides oligonucleotide primers and a method of using these primers for identification of the species of an organism, wherein the identification includes amplification of a variable polynucleotide sequence encoding a highly conserved region of a heat shock polypeptide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1999
    Assignees: University of British Columbia, The National Research Council of Canada
    Inventors: Swee Han Goh, Anthony Chow, Sean Hemmingsen
  • HSP-60 genomic locus and primers for species identification
    Patent number: 5708160
    Abstract: The present invention provides oligonucleotide primers and a method of using these primers for identification of the species of an organism, wherein the identification includes amplification of a variable polynucleotide sequence encoding a highly conserved region of a heat shock polypeptide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 13, 1998
    Assignees: The National Research Council, University of British Columbia
    Inventors: Swee Han Goh, Anthony W. Chow, Sean Hemmingsen