Patents by Inventor Bruce Edward Rittmann

Bruce Edward Rittmann 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).

  • Reducing short-chain fatty acids and energy uptake in obese humans by managing their intestinal microbial communities
    Patent number: 9549955
    Abstract: The present invention provides for microbial compositions and methods for reducing the concentration of short-chain fatty acids in the gut as a way to reduce energy uptake and manage obesity. More specifically, the invention provides for decreasing short-chain fatty acids available for absorption in the human gut, such as acetate, using one or more of: a probiotic including a homo-acetogenic, acetate oxidizing bacterium that converts acetate to H2; a probiotic including an acetoclastic methanogen; a microbial electrolysis cell comprising a homo-acetogenic bacterium and/or an acetoclastic methanogen; a prebiotic that enhances the growth or function of acetate-scavenging microbiota; or a highly selective antibiotic that targets H2-oxidizing methanogens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: Arizona Board of Regents for and on behalf of Arizona State University
    Inventors: Bruce Edward Rittmann, Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, Husen Zhang, John Dibaise, Michael Crowell