Abstract: A film for the retention and controlled release of organic or inorganic molecules consists essentially of a phyllosilicate clay and a organic polyanion. The film may be a built-up layered film of alternating layers of the clay and the polyanion. Organic or inorganic molecules are absorbed into the film from solution, and released in response to changes in the film's environment. The film may be built up using layer-by-layer (LbL) methods, or deposited on a substrate from a mixture of the clay and polyanion. Articles may be coated with the film by the same methods. The film is useful for the controlled release of antibiotics in response to infections, and also retains antibiotics such that bacteria may be killed by direct contact with the film.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 18, 2012
Date of Patent:
April 26, 2016
Assignee:
The Trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology
Abstract: Time-staggered inhibition of EGFR, in combination with DNA damaging agents, is a useful therapeutic strategy for treating cancers, particularly drug resistant cancers such as a subset of triple-negative tumors, particularly those with high basal levels of phosphorylated EGFR. The staggered therapy was also demonstrated to be applicable to other types of tumors, especially lung cancers, which contain either high levels of phosphorylated wild-type EGFR or mutations within EGFR itself. EGFR inhibition dramatically sensitizes cancer cells to DNA damage if the drugs are given sequentially, but not simultaneously. The first drug must be administered in a dosage and for a period of time sufficient for the dynamic network rewiring of an oncogenic signature maintained by active EGFR signaling to unmask an apoptotic process that involves activation of caspase-8.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
April 23, 2013
Date of Patent:
April 26, 2016
Assignee:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Inventors:
Michael B. Yaffe, Michael Jungho Lee, Paula T. Hammond, Stephen W. Morton
Abstract: The present invention is a superconducting partial insulation magnet and a method for providing the same. The magnet includes a coil with a non-insulated superconducting wire winding wound around a bobbin. The coil has a first wire layer, a second wire layer substantially surrounding the first layer, and a first layer of insulating material disposed between the first wire layer and the second wire layer. Each wire layer comprises a plurality of turns, and the first layer of insulating material substantially insulates the second wire layer from the first wire layer.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 17, 2013
Date of Patent:
April 26, 2016
Assignee:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Inventors:
Seungyong Hahn, YoungJae Kim, John Peter Voccio, Juan Bascunan, Yukikazu Iwasa
Abstract: The present invention provides compounds useful as novel near-infrared labels, compositions containing these compounds, and methods of using the near-infrared labels to identify targets in vitro, in situ and in vivo. The invention also provides small or large molecule conjugates between targeting agents and NIR labels, as well as methods and kits thereof, that can be used in diagnostics and treatment of diseases related to microbes in mammalian animals.
Type:
Application
Filed:
May 8, 2014
Publication date:
April 21, 2016
Applicants:
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Inventors:
Arkady Mustaev, David S. Perlin, Laura Wirpsza
Abstract: The invention relates to methods of protecting against elevated ghrelin levels in a fetus by antagonizing ghrelin or ghrelin receptor. The invention also encompasses methods of treating postpartum depression by administering ghrelin antagonists.
Abstract: An ionic liquid ion source can include a microfabricated body including a base and a tip. The body can be formed of a porous material compatible with at least one of an ionic liquid or room-temperature molten salt. The body can have a pore size gradient that decreases from the base of the body to the tip of the body, such that the at least one of an ionic liquid or room-temperature molten salt is capable of being transported through capillarity from the base to the tip.
Abstract: A contact lens fluid delivery device having a liquid reservoir connected to a channel with a flow regulator is described. Other eye hydration and variable dioptric power contact lenses are described herein. Also described are implantable liquid delivery apparatuses having a liquid storage reservoir connected to a channel with a flow regulator. These devices and apparatuses are useful for specific, targeted delivery of therapeutic liquids within a subject. In some embodiments, the devices incorporate actuation chambers which provide a driving force releasing the fluid into the targeted area e.g., the eye. The actuation chambers described herein can contain phase change materials or osmotic chambers or a combination thereof to drive the release of fluid.
Type:
Application
Filed:
October 13, 2015
Publication date:
April 21, 2016
Applicants:
California Institute of Technology, University of Southern California
Inventors:
Yu-Chong Tai, Nicholas E. Scianmarello, Charles M. T. DeBoer, Mark S. Humayun
Abstract: The invention relates to trans-acting ligand-responsive nucleic acids and uses thereof. In particular, a ligand responsive nucleic acid comprises an effector domain and an aptamer domain that is responsive to a ligand.
Abstract: The present application provides, among other things, novel compounds for metathesis reactions, and methods for preparing and using provided compounds. In some embodiments, the present invention provides compounds having the structure of formula I or II. In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods for preparing a compound of formula I or II. In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods for using a provided compound. In some embodiments, a provided compound is useful for stereoselective ring-opening metathesis polymerization. In some embodiments, a provided metathesis method provides cis and/or isotactic polymers.
Abstract: The invention relates to methods and compositions that enable the rapid generation of high-order combinations of genetic elements, and that provide a barcoded basis for rapid characterization of the specific combination of genetic elements encoded within a single cell or in a pooled population.
Abstract: The technology includes a method for generating a secret key. The method includes receiving initialization data, the initialization data includes an initialization packet and a transmission path channel response; generating sample data based on the transmission path channel response; and generating a secret key based on the sample data utilizing a chaotic map.
Abstract: A novel scanning Seebeck coefficient measurement technique is disclosed utilizing a cold scanning thermocouple probe tip on heated bulk and thin film samples. The system measures variations in the Seebeck coefficient within the samples. The apparatus may be used for two dimensional mapping of the Seebeck coefficient on the bulk and thin film samples. This technique can be utilized for detection of defective regions, as well as phase separations in the sub-mm range of various thermoelectric materials.
Abstract: This invention provides a system for performing PCR, and real time PCR in particular, with great speed and specificity. The system employs a heat block containing a liquid composition to rapidly transfer heat to and from reaction vessels. The system makes use of the reflective properties of the liquid metal to reflect signal from the PCR into the vessel and out the top. In this way, the signal can be measured by an optical assembly in real time without removing the vessels from the heat block.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 9, 2012
Date of Patent:
April 19, 2016
Assignee:
California Institute of Technology
Inventors:
George Maltezos, Matthew Johnston, David Goodwin, Axel Scherer, Christopher I. Walker
Abstract: The present invention provides novel 1,3,5-triazinane-2,4,6-trione derivatives, such as compounds of any one of Formulae (I) and (II), and salts thereof, and methods of preparing the compounds. Also provided are compositions including a compound of the invention and an agent (e.g., an siRNA, mRNA, or plasmid DNA). The present invention also provides methods and kits using the compositions for delivering an agent to a subject (e.g., to the liver, spleen, or lung of the subject) or cell and for treating and/or preventing a range of diseases, such as genetic diseases, proliferative diseases, hematological diseases, neurological diseases, liver diseases, and lung diseases.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 1, 2014
Date of Patent:
April 19, 2016
Assignee:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Inventors:
Yizhou Dong, Akinleye C. Alabi, Hao Yin, Joseph R. Dorkin, Delai Chen, Robert S. Langer, Daniel Griffith Anderson, Ahmed A. Eltoukhy
Abstract: A detection system includes a retroreflector and a layer of material over the retroreflector, the material being subject to change in transmission with respect to an optical property of radiation, e.g. wavelength or polarization, with exposure to a phenomenon. The retroreflector and layer are illuminated from a radiation source of multiple aspects of the optical property. A sensor senses radiation retroreflected back through the layer. The retroreflector may, for example, be an array of or individual prisms or an array of or individual cat's eye microspheres. The layer of material above the retroreflector can include a colorimetric dye. In an embodiment, the retroreflector and layer are on the surface of a carrier that moves through a medium, e.g. a projectile or vehicle moving through the air. In a method of detecting a phenomenon, retroreflective elements are distributed in an array, as in the atmosphere or across a region of ground.
Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a collagen fiber membrane, which has sufficient strength and can be used as a cell culture substrate, a scaffold material for regenerative medicine (for example, material for tissue engineering of cartilage, bone, ligament, corneal stroma, skin, or liver), an implantation material (for example, wound dressing material, bone grafting material, hemostatic material, anti-adhesive material) or a carrier for drug delivery. The object of the present invention can be solved by a fish-derived collagen fiber membrane, characterized in that (1) a tensile strength is 30 MPa or more, (2) a density determined by the gravimetric method, is 0.4 g/cm3 or more, and (3) an average membrane thickness is 1 ?m to 2 mm, and a variation in membrane thickness is plus or minus 30%, relative to the average membrane thickness.
Abstract: Systems and processes for performing solid phase peptide synthesis are generally described. Solid phase peptide synthesis is a known process in which amino acid residues are added to peptides that have been immobilized on a solid support. In certain embodiments, the inventive systems and methods can be used to perform solid phase peptide synthesis quickly while maintaining high yields. Certain embodiments relate to processes and systems that may be used to heat, transport, and/or mix reagents in ways that reduce the amount of time required to perform solid phase peptide synthesis.
Type:
Application
Filed:
September 14, 2015
Publication date:
April 14, 2016
Applicant:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Inventors:
Mark David Simon, Bradley L. Pentelute, Andrea Adamo, Patrick Louis Heider, Klavs F. Jensen