Patents by Inventor Scott Thomas Retterer

Scott Thomas Retterer 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).

  • Reversible, on-demand generation of aqueous two-phase microdroplets
    Patent number: 9730898
    Abstract: The present invention provides methods of on-demand, reversible generation of aqueous two-phase microdroplets core-shell microbeads, microparticle preparations comprising the core-shell microbeads, and drug delivery formulation comprising the microparticle preparations. Because these aqueous microdroplets have volumes comparable to those of cells, they provide an approach to mimicking the dynamic microcompartmentation of biomaterial that naturally occurs within the cytoplasm of cells. Hence, the present methods generate femtoliter aqueous two-phase droplets within a microfluidic oil channel using gated pressure pulses to generate individual, stationary two-phase microdroplets with a well-defined time zero for carrying out controlled and sequential phase transformations over time. Reversible phase transitions between single-phase, two-phase, and core-shell microbead states are obtained via evaporation-induced dehydration and water rehydration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignees: UT-BATTELLE, LLC, UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE RESEARCH FOUNDATION
    Inventors: Charles Patrick Collier, Scott Thomas Retterer, Jonathan Barton Boreyko, Prachya Mruetusatorn
  • REVERSIBLE, ON-DEMAND GENERATION OF AQUEOUS TWO-PHASE MICRODROPLETS
    Publication number: 20150057371
    Abstract: The present invention provides methods of on-demand, reversible generation of aqueous two-phase microdroplets core-shell microbeads, microparticle preparations comprising the core-shell microbeads, and drug delivery formulation comprising the microparticle preparations. Because these aqueous microdroplets have volumes comparable to those of cells, they provide an approach to mimicking the dynamic microcompartmentation of biomaterial that naturally occurs within the cytoplasm of cells. Hence, the present methods generate femtoliter aqueous two-phase droplets within a microfluidic oil channel using gated pressure pulses to generate individual, stationary two-phase microdroplets with a well-defined time zero for carrying out controlled and sequential phase transformations over time. Reversible phase transitions between single-phase, two-phase, and core-shell microbead states are obtained via evaporation-induced dehydration and water rehydration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2013
    Publication date: February 26, 2015
    Inventors: Charles Patrick Collier, Scott Thomas Retterer, Jonathan Barton Boreyko, Prachya Mruetusathorn