Patents Assigned to Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc.
  • Publication number: 20090137027
    Abstract: Polynucleotides having in excess of 1,000 nucleotides can be prepared using a solid phase synthesis technique. A feature of the technique is the use of a reusable solid support that contains covalently bound oligonucleotide. This covalently bound oligonucleotide is annealed to a bridge oligonucleotide, where the bridge is also annealed to a first oligonucleotide that forms a portion of the target polynucleotide. After the target polynucleotide is synthesized, it can be removed from the solid support under denaturing conditions, and the solid support re-used to prepare additional target polynucleotides. The yield of the target polynucleotide increases when shearing force is applied to the solid support that is linked to the growing oligonucleotide. This shearing force is thought to extend the growing end of the oligonucleotide away from contact with other oligonucleotide bound to the solid support and make that end more accessible to annealing with solution oligonucleotide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2008
    Publication date: May 28, 2009
    Applicant: Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc.
    Inventors: Hsing-Yeh Parker, John T. Mulligan
  • Patent number: 7482119
    Abstract: Polynucleotides having in excess of 1,000 nucleotides can be prepared using a solid phase synthesis technique. A feature of the technique is the use of a reusable solid support that contains covalently bound oligonucleotide. This covalently bound oligonucleotide is annealed to a bridge oligonucleotide, where the bridge is also annealed to a first oligonucleotide that forms a portion of the target polynucleotide. After the target polynucleotide is synthesized, it can be removed from the solid support under denaturing conditions, and the solid support re-used to prepare additional target polynucleotides. The yield of the target polynucleotide increases when shearing force is applied to the solid support that is linked to the growing oligonucleotide. This shearing force is thought to extend the growing end of the oligonucleotide away from contact with other oligonucleotide bound to the solid support and make that end more accessible to annealing with solution oligonucleotide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2009
    Assignee: Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc.
    Inventors: Hsing-Yeh Parker, John T. Mulligan
  • Patent number: 7164992
    Abstract: Methods and systems for automated polynucleotide synthesis design are provided. Example embodiments provide an Automated Polynucleotide Synthesis Design System (“APSDS”), which automatically generates a synthesis design for a designated target sequence specification. In one embodiment, the APSDS comprises a synthesis design engine, user interface support, a synthesis rules data repository, and a synthesis data repository. The APSDS automatically generates a synthesis design by receiving a target sequence(s) specification, generating a potential synthesis design, evaluating the potential design against synthesis rules, and when the evaluation indicates that the potential design is not successful according to the synthesis rules, adjusting the design to generate a new potential synthesis design and repeating the process of evaluating and adjusting until a potential synthesis design is found that satisfies the synthesis rules or until no solution is found.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2007
    Assignee: Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc.
    Inventors: John T. Mulligan, John C. Tabone, R. Gregg Brickner
  • Publication number: 20060134638
    Abstract: In embodiments of the present invention, methods are provided for removing double-stranded oligonucleotide (e.g., DNA) molecules containing one or more sequence errors, generated during nucleic acid synthesis, from a population of correct oligonucleotide duplexes. In one embodiment, the oligonucleotides are generated enzymatically. Heteroduplex (containing mismatched bases) oligonucleotides may be created by denaturing and reannealing the population of duplexes. The reannealed oligonucleotide duplexes are contacted with a mismatch recognition protein that interacts with (e.g., binds and/or cleaves) the duplexes containing a base pair mismatch. The oligonucleotide heteroduplexes that have interacted with such a protein are separated, simultaneously with contacting or sequentially in a separate step, from homoduplexes. These methods are also used in another embodiment to remove heteroduplex oligonucleotides (e.g., DNA) that are formed directly from chemical nucleic acid synthesis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2004
    Publication date: June 22, 2006
    Applicant: Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc.
    Inventors: John Mulligan, John Tabone
  • Publication number: 20050106606
    Abstract: Polynucleotides having in excess of 1,000 nucleotides can be prepared using a solid phase synthesis technique. A feature of the technique is the use of a reusable solid support that contains covalently bound oligonucleotide. This covalently bound oligonucleotide is annealed to a bridge oligonucleotide, where the bridge is also annealed to a first oligonucleotide that forms a portion of the target polynucleotide. After the target polynucleotide is synthesized, it can be removed from the solid support under denaturing conditions, and the solid support re-used to prepare additional target polynucleotides. The yield of the target polynucleotide increases when shearing force is applied to the solid support that is linked to the growing oligonucleotide. This shearing force is thought to extend the growing end of the oligonucleotide away from contact with other oligonucleotide bound to the solid support and make that end more accessible to annealing with solution oligonucleotide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2004
    Publication date: May 19, 2005
    Applicant: Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc.
    Inventors: Hsing-Yeh Parker, John Mulligan
  • Publication number: 20050069928
    Abstract: Disclosed is a significantly improved synthetic method of producing a set of mutagenized progeny polynucleotides which contain at least one substituted codon encoding for each of the 20 naturally encoded amino acids or any selected subset thereof. This in turn, similarly provides a method for producing from a parental template polypeptide, a set of mutagenized progeny polypeptides in which all 20 naturally encoded amino acids is represented at each original amino acid position or any selected subset thereof. The methods described herein enable the synthesis of defined, complex mixtures of oligonucleotides, in instances where the incorporation of degenerate bases is impractical. These oligonucleotide mixtures are useful for a variety of applications such as recombination methods, site-saturation mutagenesis, or the like.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2004
    Publication date: March 31, 2005
    Applicant: Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey Nelson, John Mulligan, John Tabone
  • Patent number: 6664112
    Abstract: Synthetic oligonucleotides, such as synthetic DNA, often contain sequence errors due to synthetic failures (e.g., side products and/or truncated products). Methods are provided herein for improving the sequence fidelity of synthetic double-stranded oligonucleotides by separative depletion of synthetic failures. Separation is effected by utilization of methodologies in a preparative mode under denaturing conditions. A preferred use of the methods relates to gene synthesis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc.
    Inventors: John T. Mulligan, John C. Tabone
  • Publication number: 20030228602
    Abstract: Polynucleotides having in excess of 1,000 nucleotides can be prepared using a solid phase synthesis technique. A feature of the technique is the use of a reusable solid support that contains covalently bound oligonucleotide. This covalently bound oligonucleotide is annealed to a bridge oligonucleotide, where the bridge is also annealed to a first oligonucleotide that forms a portion of the target polynucleotide. After the target polynucleotide is synthesized, it can be removed from the solid support under denaturing conditions, and the solid support re-used to prepare additional target polynucleotides. The yield of the target polynucleotide increases when shearing force is applied to the solid support that is linked to the growing oligonucleotide. This shearing force is thought to extend the growing end of the oligonucleotide away from contact with other oligonucleotide bound to the solid support and make that end more accessible to annealing with solution oligonucleotide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2003
    Publication date: December 11, 2003
    Applicant: Blue Heron Biotechnology, Inc.
    Inventors: Hsing-Yeh Parker, John T. Mulligan