Patents Examined by Alex Noguerola
  • Patent number: 8298394
    Abstract: Provided is a multi-channel apparatus for non-gel based two-dimensional protein separation. One or more flat channels are arranged in parallel and have an isoelectric focusing section for primarily separating proteins from protein samples according to isoelectric point (pI) and a flow field-flow fractionation section for secondarily separating the primarily separated proteins according to molecular weight, thereby making it possible to simultaneously separate the proteins in multiple channels, to increase a protein separation speed, and to overcome limitation to sample injection due to an increase in channel volume. The apparatus can separate the proteins according to pI and molecular weight, be safe from denaturation of the protein in the process of protein separation, automatically remove an ampholyte used for pI-based separation, and separately detecting the separated proteins to identify the proteins using nanoflow liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS-MS).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignee: Yonsei University—Industry Academic Cooperation Foundation
    Inventors: Myeong Hee Moon, Ki Hun Kim
  • Patent number: 8298401
    Abstract: Analytes in a liquid sample are determined by methods utilizing sample volumes of less than about 1.0 ?l and test times within about six seconds. The methods are preferably performed using small test strips including a sample receiving chamber filled with the sample by capillary action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignees: Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc., Roche Operations Ltd.
    Inventor: Christopher D. Wilsey
  • Patent number: 8293086
    Abstract: A method is provided for classifying nanoobjects having different electrical properties, such as conductivities and permittivities. The method includes: suspending nanoobjects having different electrical properties in a liquid medium; passing the liquid medium through a microchamber; and filtering nanoobjects having a first type of electrical property from the liquid medium by applying an electric field to the liquid medium in the microchamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Michigan State University
    Inventors: Ning Xi, Wai Chiu King Lai, Uchechukwu C. Wejinya
  • Patent number: 8293095
    Abstract: Provided is a microfluidic device for electrically regulating the pH of a fluid comprising: a first chamber comprising a first electrode; a second chamber comprising a second electrode; a third chamber comprising a third electrode, a metal ion exchange membrane between the first and second chambers; and a hydrogen ion exchange membrane between the first or second chamber and the third chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jung-im Han, Joon-ho Kim
  • Patent number: 8287712
    Abstract: Components of a mixture are separated by feeding charged molecules of the components into a end surface of a suitable medium, for example a gel. The molecules are drawn in a first direction through the medium by means of an DC electric field, while at the same time being subjected to an alternating voltage with a strongly asymmetric profile in a direction transverse to the first direction. The nonlinear behavior of the electrically-generated migration causes a large number of molecules to migrate transversely out of the medium while only a small number of molecules reach the opposite end surface of the medium. A superimposed DC voltage in the transverse direction selects which of the mixture components migrate all the way through the medium in the first direction. The separated components can be sampled from the opposite end surface and from points on the upper and lower medium surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Bruker Daltonik GmbH
    Inventors: Evgenij Nikolaev, Jochen Franzen
  • Patent number: 8282803
    Abstract: The procedures involved in isoelectric focusing that entail the use of an electric current can be performed with the gel side of the IPG strip facing either up or down in a tray and electrode assembly in which the electrodes are mounted on an insert from which the inner ends of the electrodes extend into the troughs to reside either below the IPG strips or above them. Slots in one part (either the insert or the tray) mate with walls or partitions in the other part to secure the two parts together, and the heights of the electrodes within the troughs of the tray can be adjusted by the height of the insert in the tray or by a resilient mounting of the electrode to the insert.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventor: Evelio Perez
  • Patent number: 8282799
    Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and devices for separating particles according to size. More specifically, the present invention relates to a microfluidic method and device for the separation of particles according to size using an array comprising a network of gaps, wherein the field flux from each gap divides unequally into subsequent gaps. In one embodiment, the array comprises an ordered array of obstacles in a microfluidic channel, in which the obstacle array is asymmetric with respect to the direction of an applied field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: The Trustees of Princeton University
    Inventors: Lotien Richard Huang, James Christopher Sturm, Robert Hamilton Austin
  • Patent number: 8273226
    Abstract: An electrochemical test sensor includes a base, a generally hard electrically-conductive layer, an electrochemically-active layer, and a lid. The electrically-conductive layer is located between the base and the electrochemically-active layer. The electrically-conductive layer and the electrochemically-active layer are made of a different material. The electrically-conductive layer and the electrochemically-active layer form an electrode pattern. The electrochemical test sensor includes a reagent adapted to assist in determining information related to an analyte of a fluid sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Bayer HealthCare LLC
    Inventor: Andrew J. Edelbrock
  • Patent number: 8273241
    Abstract: A sensor utilizing a non-leachable or diffusible redox mediator is described. The sensor includes a sample chamber to hold a sample in electrolytic contact with a working electrode, and in at least some instances, the sensor also contains a non-leachable or a diffusible second electron transfer agent. The sensor and/or the methods used produce a sensor signal in response to the analyte that can be distinguished from a background signal caused by the mediator. The invention can be used to determine the concentration of a biomolecule, such as glucose or lactate, in a biological fluid, such as blood or serum, using techniques such as coulometry, amperometry; and potentiometry. An enzyme capable of catalyzing the electrooxidation or electroreduction of the biomolecule is typically provided as a second electron transfer agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Abbott Diabetes Care Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin J. Feldman, Adam Heller, Ephraim Heller, Fei Mao, Joseph A. Vivolo, Jeffery V. Funderburk, Fredric C. Colman, Rajesh Krishnan
  • Patent number: 8268162
    Abstract: A system and method for voltammetric analysis of a liquid sample solution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignee: TraceDetect, Inc.
    Inventors: Vladimir Dozortsev, William T. Dietze
  • Patent number: 8268149
    Abstract: The invention provides a dry electroblotting system for dry blotting gels, in which the system includes an electroblotting transfer stack that comprises an analysis gel and a blotting membrane, an anode, a body of anodic gel matrix juxtaposed with the anode between the anode and the transfer stack, a cathode, and a body of cathodic gel matrix juxtaposed with the cathode between the cathode and the transfer stack, in which the anodic gel matrix and the cathodic gel matrix each comprise an ion source for electrophoretic transfer. The dry electroblotting system does not use any liquid buffers that are added to the system just before electroblotting (such as when the transfer stack is being assembled). The anode, the cathode, or both can be separate from a power supply and provided as part of a disposable electrode assembly that also includes a body of gel matrix that includes ions for electrophoretic transfer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignee: Life Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Ilana Margalit, Uri Yogev, Itay Sela, Yuri Katz, Adam Sartiel
  • Patent number: 8268163
    Abstract: A sensor utilizing a non-leachable or diffusible redox mediator is described. The sensor includes a sample chamber to hold a sample in electrolytic contact with a working electrode, and in at least some instances, the sensor also contains a non-leachable or a diffusible second electron transfer agent. The sensor and/or the methods used produce a sensor signal in response to the analyte that can be distinguished from a background signal caused by the mediator. The invention can be used to determine the concentration of a biomolecule, such as glucose or lactate, in a biological fluid, such as blood or serum, using techniques such as coulometry, amperometry; and potentiometry. An enzyme capable of catalyzing the electrooxidation or electroreduction of the biomolecule is typically provided as a second electron transfer agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignee: Abbott Diabetes Care Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin J. Feldman, Adam Heller, Ephraim Heller, Fei Mao, Joseph A. Vivolo, Jeffery V. Funderburk, Fredric C. Colman, Rajesh Krishnan
  • Patent number: 8268144
    Abstract: A sensor utilizing a non-leachable or diffusible redox mediator is described. The sensor includes a sample chamber to hold a sample in electrolytic contact with a working electrode, and in at least some instances, the sensor also contains a non-leachable or a diffusible second electron transfer agent. The sensor and/or the methods used produce a sensor signal in response to the analyte that can be distinguished from a background signal caused by the mediator. The invention can be used to determine the concentration of a biomolecule, such as glucose or lactate, in a biological fluid, such as blood or serum, using techniques such as coulometry, amperometry; and potentiometry. An enzyme capable of catalyzing the electrooxidation or electroreduction of the biomolecule is typically provided as a second electron transfer agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignee: Abbott Diabetes Care Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin J. Feldman, Adam Heller, Ephraim Heller, Fei Mao, Joseph A. Vivolo, Jeffery V. Funderburk, Fredric C. Colman, Rajesh Krishnan
  • Patent number: 8262883
    Abstract: Methods and devices for the separation of particles (20, 21, 22) in a compartment (30) of a fluidic microsystem (100) are described, in which the movement of a liquid (10) in which particles (20, 21, 22) are suspended with a predetermined direction of flow through the compartment (30), and the generation of a deflecting potential in which at least a part of the particles (20, 21, 22) is moved relative to the liquid in a direction of deflection are envisaged, whereby further at least one focusing potential is generated, so that at least a part of the particles is moved opposite to the direction of deflection relative to the liquid by dielectrophoresis under the effect of high-frequency electrical fields, and guiding of particles with different electrical, magnetic or geometric properties into different flow areas (11, 12) in the liquid takes place.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: PerkinElmer Cellular Technologies Germany, GmbH
    Inventors: Torsten Müller, Thomas Schnelle, Rolf Hagedorn
  • Patent number: 8257575
    Abstract: An ammonia gas sensor is disclosed that includes a reference electrode, an ammonia selective sensing electrode and an electrolyte disposed therebetween. The ammonia sensing electrode comprises vanadium silicide, vanadium oxysilicide, vanadium carbide, vanadium oxycarbide, vanadium nitride, or vanadium oxynitride.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Da Yu Wang
  • Patent number: 8257576
    Abstract: An ammonia gas sensor is disclosed that includes a reference electrode, an ammonia selective sensing electrode and an electrolyte disposed therebetween. The ammonia sensing electrode comprises an oxide material characterized by the formula CewAxLyVOz wherein L is lanthanum or another lanthanide element other than cerium, A is one or more other metals, and w, x, y and z are numbers indicative of atomic proportion with w ranging from about 0.001 to about 4 x ranging from 0 to about 0.8, y ranging from about 0.001 to about 4, and z with a range to balance the existence of Cew, Ax, Ly and V.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Da Yu Wang
  • Patent number: 8257564
    Abstract: A gas sensor comprising: a gas detecting element extending in an axial direction and including a detecting electrode provided on an outer surface of a leading end side of the gas detecting element, and a lead portion connecting to the detecting electrode and extending toward a rear end side of the gas detecting element; a cylindrical metal shell housing the gas detecting element such that the gas detecting element protrudes from a leading end side of the metal shell; a powder layer filling a gap between the gas detecting element and the metal shell and covering at least a portion of the lead portion; and an insulating layer provided between the powder layer and the lead portion. Also disclosed is a method for manufacturing the gas sensor which includes forming the insulating layer by at least: applying a glass paste; drying the glass paste; and heat-treating the glass paste.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kentaro Mori, Koji Shiono
  • Patent number: 8257567
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a method for measuring hemoglobin using electrophoresis, in particular a method for measuring hemoglobin that enables high accuracy measurement of stable hemoglobin A1c and a method for simultaneously measuring stable hemoglobin A1c and abnormal hemoglobins. The present invention provides a method for measuring hemoglobin using electrophoresis, which comprises: immobilizing an ionic polymer on an inner surface of a migration path; and using a buffer solution containing a sulfated polysaccharide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuyuki Oishi, Izumi Omoto, Toshiki Kawabe, Eriko Kusaka
  • Patent number: 8252159
    Abstract: The invention concerns a microfluidic device for the controlled movement of liquid. The controlled-movement device according to the invention comprises a microchannel (10) filled with a first liquid (F1) and a fluid (F2) forming a first interface (I1) with the first liquid (F1), or forming a first interface (I1) with the first liquid (F1) and a second interface (I1) with a second liquid (F3) situated downstream of said fluid (F2), and means of moving the first liquid (F1) by electrowetting. A control system is provided for controlling the movement of the first liquid (F1) according to the position of an interface (I1, 13) of the fluid (F2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique
    Inventors: Jean-Maxime Roux, Raymond Campagnolo
  • Patent number: 8246801
    Abstract: Disclosed a support structure of an electroosmotic member including: a support structure; an opening formed in the support member in which an electroosmotic member is disposed; and at least one of an elastic piece to separate the opening and the space from each other and to support the electroosmotic member, a cushioning filled in a gap between a wall of the opening and an edge of the electroosmotic member to support the electroosmotic member, and a projection provided on a wall of the opening to support the electroosmotic member, wherein the elastic piece, the cushioning and the projection supports the electroosmotic member which absorbs an impact or a vibration, and when the impact is applied to the support member (housing), an impact load applied to the electroosmotic member can be suppressed and thus, even when the impact is applied, it is possible to prevent the electroosmotic member from being damaged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takayuki Sunako, Yasunari Kabasawa