Patents by Inventor Lauren P. Blair

Lauren P. Blair 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).

  • Methods and kits for quantitative methyltransferase and demethylase measurements
    Patent number: 8367366
    Abstract: The invention provides methods and kits for characterizing the activity of a methyltransferase or demethylase. The method involves enzymatically methylating or demethylating in vitro a substrate that is a peptide fragment of a full-length polypeptide, and then non-enzymatically methylating the peptide substrate with methyl groups that differ in molecular weight from the enzymatically added or removed methyl groups. Typically, deuterated or 13C formaldehyde is used to non-enzymatically methylate the substrate. The fully methylated substrate is then characterized by mass spectrometry to determine the ratio of enzymatically produced nonmethyl, monomethyl, and dimethyl residues on the peptide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: The Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas
    Inventors: Alan J. Tackett, Nathan L. Avaritt, Lauren P. Blair
  • Methods and Kits for Quantitative Methyltransferase and Demethylase Measurements
    Publication number: 20120142040
    Abstract: The invention provides methods and kits for characterizing the activity of a methyltransferase or demethylase. The method involves enzymatically methylating or demethylating in vitro a substrate that is a peptide fragment of a full-length polypeptide, and then non-enzymatically methylating the peptide substrate with methyl groups that differ in molecular weight from the enzymatically added or removed methyl groups. Typically, deuterated or 13C formaldehyde is used to non-enzymatically methylate the substrate. The fully methylated substrate is then characterized by mass spectrometry to determine the ratio of enzymatically produced nonmethyl, monomethyl, and dimethyl residues on the peptide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2010
    Publication date: June 7, 2012
    Inventors: Alan J. Tackett, Nathan L. Avaritt, Lauren P. Blair