Patents by Inventor Norbert Meenen

Norbert Meenen 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).

  • Culturing encapsulated chondrocytes under reduced oxygen partial pressure to produce cartilage implants
    Patent number: 6730314
    Abstract: A process is provided for the production of a human cartilage implant from chondrocytes cultured in vitro, which come as close as possible to the original with respect to their biochemical composition and biomechanical properties. Up to 20% vol. of human serum is used as medium addition in the process. The chondrocytes can be kept in monolayer culture until the 12th passage in order firstly to be re-differentiated, incubated under a reduced oxygen partial pressure, and subsequently stimulated to form a three-dimensional cartilage tissue due to aggregation under an oxygen partial pressure of 21%. In an embodiment, chondrocytes in alginate beads are cultured in a nutrient solution, which may contain human serum and one or more chondrogenic growth factors, under an oxygen partial pressure of less than 20 volume %, isolated from the alginate beads by a treatment with a chelating agent, aggregated by centrifugation and cultured under an oxygen partial pressure of: −21 volume %.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2004
    Assignee: Merck Patent Gesellschaft
    Inventors: Brigitte Jeschke, Jörg Meyer, Peter Adamietz, Norbert Meenen, Christiane Göpfert
  • Process for the production of human cartilage implants by means of chondrocytes cultivated in vitro
    Publication number: 20020052044
    Abstract: The invention describes a process for the production of a human cartilage implant from chondrocytes cultured in vitro, which come as close as possible to the original with respect to their biochemical composition and biomechanical properties. Up to 20% by vol. of human serum are used as medium addition in the process. The chondrocytes can be kept in monolayer culture until the 12th passage in order firstly to be re-differentiated, incubated under a reduced oxygen partial pressure, and subsequently stimulated to form a three-dimensional cartilage tissue due to aggregation under an oxygen partial pressure of 21%.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2001
    Publication date: May 2, 2002
    Applicant: Merck KGAA; Darmstadt, Germany
    Inventors: Brigitte Jeschke, Jorg Meyer, Peter Adamietz, Norbert Meenen, Christiane Gopfert