Patents by Inventor Cynthia S. Millard

Cynthia S. Millard 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).

  • Method for the production of dicarboxylic acids
    Patent number: 5869301
    Abstract: The present invention is an economical fermentation method for the production of carboxylic acids comprising the steps of a) inoculating a medium having a carbon source with a carboxylic acid-producing organism; b) incubating the carboxylic acid-producing organism in an aerobic atmosphere to promote rapid growth of the organism thereby increasing the biomass of the organism; c) controllably releasing oxygen to maintain the aerobic atmosphere; d) controllably feeding the organism having increased biomass with a solution containing the carbon source to maintain the concentration of the carbon source within the medium of about 0.5 g/L up to about 1 g/L; e) depriving the aerobic atmosphere of oxygen to produce an anaerobic atmosphere to cause the organism to undergo anaerobic metabolism; f) controllably feeding the organism having increased biomass a solution containing the carbon source to maintain the concentration of the carbon source within the medium of .gtoreq.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: Lockhead Martin Energy Research Corporation
    Inventors: Nhuan Phu Nghiem, Mark Donnelly, Cynthia S. Millard, Lucy Stols
  • Mutant E. coli strain with increased succinic acid production
    Patent number: 5770435
    Abstract: A method for isolating succinic acid producing bacteria is provided comprising increasing the biomass of an organism which lacks the ability to catabolize pyruvate, and then subjecting the biomass to glucose-rich medium in an anaerobic environment to enable pyruvate-catabolizing mutants to grow.The invention also provides for a mutant that produces high amounts of succinic acid, which as been derived from a parent which lacked the genes for pyruvate formate lyase and lactate dehydrogenase, and which belongs to the E.coli Group of Bacteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 23, 1998
    Assignee: University of Chicago
    Inventors: Mark Donnelly, Cynthia S. Millard, Lucy Stols
  • Mutant E. coli strain with increased succinic acid production
    Patent number: RE37393
    Abstract: A method for isolating succinic acid producing bacteria is provided comprising increasing the biomass of an organism which lacks the ability to catabolize pyruvate, and then subjecting the biomass to glucose-rich medium in an anaerobic environment to enable pyruvate-catabolizing mutants to grow. The invention also provides for a mutant that produces high amounts of succinic acid, which has been derived from a parent which lacked the genes for pyruvate formate lyase and lactate dehydrogenase, and which belongs to the E.coli Group of Bacteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2001
    Assignee: The University of Chicago
    Inventors: Mark Donnelly, Cynthia S. Millard, Lucy Stols