Patents by Inventor Lene V. Hau

Lene V. Hau 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).

  • Patent number: 11906509
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for characterizing shuttle capture events in a nanopore sensor. The method first collects time-dependent current blockage signatures for at least one bias voltage. The method then identifies each signature as corresponding to a permanent or transient event. The method then generates a protein dynamics landscape (PDL) for the transient event signatures. The PDL comprises a set of histograms of nanopore current data and characterizes current through the nanopore during shuttle capture events. The method can then comprise identifying an entrance level blockage value based on the permanent event signatures. Permanent event captures can be determined by time duration which is larger than a certain threshold time value. Applying a voltage between the fluidic chambers above a threshold voltage level can be used to control that the vast majority of events are permanent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE
    Inventors: Lene V. Hau, Jene A. Golovchenko
  • Publication number: 20230349883
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for characterizing shuttle capture events in a nanopore sensor. The method first collects time-dependent current blockage signatures for at least one bias voltage. The method then identifies each signature as corresponding to a permanent or transient event. The method then generates a protein dynamics landscape (PDL) for the transient event signatures. The PDL comprises a set of histograms of nanopore current data and characterizes current through the nanopore during shuttle capture events. The method can then comprise identifying an entrance level blockage value based on the permanent event signatures. Permanent event captures can be determined by time duration which is larger than a certain threshold time value. Applying a voltage between the fluidic chambers above a threshold voltage level can be used to control that the vast majority of events are permanent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2023
    Publication date: November 2, 2023
    Applicant: PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE
    Inventors: Lene V. HAU, Jene A. GOLOVCHENKO
  • Publication number: 20230333084
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for trapping and electrically monitoring molecules in a nanopore sensor. The nanopore sensor comprises a support structure with a first and a second fluidic chamber, at least one nanopore fluidically connected to the two chambers, and a protein shuttle. The protein shuttle comprises an electrically charged protein molecule, such as Avidin. The nanopore can be a Clytosolin A. A method can comprise applying a voltage across the nanopores to draw protein shuttles towards the nanopores. The ionic current through each or all of the nanopores can be concurrently measured. Based on the measured ionic current, blockage events can be detected. Each blockage event indicates a capture of a protein shuttle by at least one nanopore. Each blockage event can be detected through a change of the total ionic current flow or a change in the ionic current flow for a particular nanopore.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2022
    Publication date: October 19, 2023
    Applicants: PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
    Inventors: Lene V. HAU, Jene A. GOLOVCHENKO, Min CHEN
  • Patent number: 11639922
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for characterizing shuttle capture events in a nanopore sensor. The method first collects time-dependent current blockage signatures for at least one bias voltage. The method then identifies each signature as corresponding to a permanent or transient event. The method then generates a protein dynamics landscape (PDL) for the transient event signatures. The PDL comprises a set of histograms of nanopore current data and characterizes current through the nanopore during shuttle capture events. The method can then comprise identifying an entrance level blockage value based on the permanent event signatures. Permanent event captures can be determined by time duration which is larger than a certain threshold time value. Applying a between the fluidic chambers above a threshold voltage level can be used to control that the vast majority of events are permanent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE
    Inventors: Lene V. Hau, Jene A. Golovchenko
  • Patent number: 11567061
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for trapping and electrically monitoring molecules in a nanopore sensor. The nanopore sensor comprises a support structure with a first and a second fluidic chamber, at least one nanopore fluidically connected to the two chambers, and a protein shuttle. The protein shuttle comprises an electrically charged protein molecule, such as Avidin. The nanopore can be a Clytosolin A. A method can comprise applying a voltage across the nanopores to draw protein shuttles towards the nanopores. The ionic current through each or all of the nanopores can be concurrently measured. Based on the measured ionic current, blockage events can be detected. Each blockage event indicates a capture of a protein shuttle by at least one nanopore. Each blockage event can be detected through a change of the total ionic current flow or a change in the ionic current flow for a particular nanopore.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignees: PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
    Inventors: Lene V. Hau, Jene A. Golovchenko, Min Chen
  • Publication number: 20210148884
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for trapping and electrically monitoring molecules in a nanopore sensor. The nanopore sensor comprises a support structure with a first and a second fluidic chamber, at least one nanopore fluidically connected to the two chambers, and a protein shuttle. The protein shuttle comprises an electrically charged protein molecule, such as Avidin. The nanopore can be a Clytosolin A. A method can comprise applying a voltage across the nanopores to draw protein shuttles towards the nanopores. The ionic current through each or all of the nanopores can be concurrently measured. Based on the measured ionic current, blockage events can be detected. Each blockage event indicates a capture of a protein shuttle by at least one nanopore. Each blockage event can be detected through a change of the total ionic current flow or a change in the ionic current flow for a particular nanopore.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Publication date: May 20, 2021
    Applicants: PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
    Inventors: Lene V. HAU, Jene A. GOLOVCHENKO, Min CHEN
  • Publication number: 20210140939
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for characterizing shuttle capture events in a nanopore sensor. The method first collects time-dependent current blockage signatures for at least one bias voltage. The method then identifies each signature as corresponding to a permanent or transient event. The method then generates a protein dynamics landscape (PDL) for the transient event signatures. The PDL comprises a set of histograms of nanopore current data and characterizes current through the nanopore during shuttle capture events. The method can then comprise identifying an entrance level blockage value based on the permanent event signatures. Permanent event captures can be determined by time duration which is larger than a certain threshold time value. Applying a between the fluidic chambers above a threshold voltage level can be used to control that the vast majority of events are permanent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Publication date: May 13, 2021
    Applicant: PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE
    Inventors: Lene V. HAU, Jene A. GOLOVCHENKO
  • Patent number: 8729495
    Abstract: Suspended nanotubes are used to capture and ionize neutral chemical units, such as individual atoms, molecules, and condensates, with excellent efficiency and sensitivity. Applying a voltage to the nanotube(s) (with respect to a grounding surface) creates an attractive potential between a polarizable neutral chemical unit and the nanotube that varies as 1/r2, where r is the unit's distance from the nanotube. An atom approaching the nanotube with a sub-threshold angular momentum is captured by the potential and eventually spirals towards the nanotube. The atom ionizes as in comes into close proximity with a sidewall of the nanotube, creating an ion whose polarity matches the polarity of the electric potential of the nanotube. Repulsive forces eject the ion, which can be detected more easily than a neutral chemical unit. Suspended nanotubes can be used to detect small numbers of neutral chemical units (e.g., single atoms) for applications in sensing and interferometry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: President and Fellows of Harvard College
    Inventors: Lene V. Hau, Jene A. Golovchenko, Anne Goodsell
  • Publication number: 20130105686
    Abstract: Suspended nanotubes are used to capture and ionize neutral chemical units, such as individual atoms, molecules, and condensates, with excellent efficiency and sensitivity. Applying a voltage to the nanotube(s) (with respect to a grounding surface) creates an attractive potential between a polarizable neutral chemical unit and the nanotube that varies as 1/r2, where r is the unit's distance from the nanotube. An atom approaching the nanotube with a sub-threshold angular momentum is captured by the potential and eventually spirals towards the nanotube. The atom ionizes as in comes into close proximity with a sidewall of the nanotube, creating an ion whose polarity matches the polarity of the electric potential of the nanotube. Repulsive forces eject the ion, which can be detected more easily than a neutral chemical unit. Suspended nanotubes can be used to detect small numbers of neutral chemical units (e.g., single atoms) for applications in sensing and interferometry.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2011
    Publication date: May 2, 2013
    Inventors: Lene V. Hau, Jene A. Golovchenko, Anne L. Goodsell