Patents by Inventor Thomas J. Pollock
Thomas J. Pollock 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).
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Patent number: 7390644Abstract: The present invention is directed to a Sphingomonas bacteria and a method of producing exopolysaccharides by culturing a Shpingomonas bacteria in a fermentation broth for a time and temperature effective for providing a sphingan exopolysaccharide in a slime form.Type: GrantFiled: July 10, 2003Date of Patent: June 24, 2008Assignees: Shin-Etsu Bio., Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Company, Ltd.Inventors: Motohide Yamazaki, Marcia Mikolajczak, Thomas J. Pollock, Richard W. Armentrout
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Publication number: 20040077056Abstract: The present invention is directed to a Sphingomonas bacteria and a method of producing exopolysaccharides by culturing a Shingomonas bacteria in a fermentation broth for a time and temperature effective for providing a sphingan exopolysaccharide in a slime form.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 10, 2003Publication date: April 22, 2004Applicants: Shin-Etsu Bio, Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Motohide Yamazaki, Marcia Mikolajczak, Thomas J. Pollock, Richard W. Armentrout
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Patent number: 6709845Abstract: A modified S7 polysaccharide is disclosed. The polysaccharide contains 20% less glucose that S7. An S7c6 gene cluster is disclosed. A mutated Sphingomonas is also disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: June 30, 2000Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignees: Shin-Etsu Bio, Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., LtdInventor: Thomas J. Pollock
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Patent number: 6605461Abstract: The present invention is directed to a Sphingomonas bacteria and a method of producing exopolysaccharides by culturing a Shingomonas bacteria in a fermentation broth for a time and temperature effective for providing a sphingan exopolysaccharide in a slime form.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2001Date of Patent: August 12, 2003Assignees: Shin-Etsu Bio., Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Company, Ltd.Inventors: Motohide Yamazaki, Marcia Mikolajczak, Thomas J. Pollock, Richard W. Armentrout
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Patent number: 6602997Abstract: The present invention provides for a method for obtaining a polysaccharide substantially free from whole bacterial cells and bacterial cell debris including: (a) fermenting a Sphingomonas bacterium, which produces the polysaccharide, to produce an aqueous fermentation broth having the polysaccharide dissolved therein; (b) diluting the fermentation broth with an equal volume of deionized water; (c) partially hydrolyzing the polysaccharide by exposing the fermentation broth resulting from step (b) to a temperature in excess of 100° C.Type: GrantFiled: April 19, 2001Date of Patent: August 5, 2003Assignees: Shin-Etsu Bio, Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Marcia Mikolajczak, Motohide Yamazaki, Thomas J. Pollock
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Publication number: 20030140818Abstract: The present invention provides for a polysaccharide produced by subjecting a Sphingomonas bacterium modified with a S7c6 gene cluster or segment thereof to aerobic fermentation in a nutrient aqueous broth for a time sufficient to produce the polysaccharide dissolved therein, including L-Rhap, D-Glcp and 2-deoxy-&bgr;-D-arabino-HexpA in a molar ratio of 1:3:1, wherein the polysaccharide has at least 20% less glucose per repeat unit compared to a heteropolysaccharide S-7 produced by an unmodified Sphingomonas strain S7, and the segment includes at least the spsB and rhsACBD genes.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 22, 2001Publication date: July 31, 2003Applicants: Shin-Etsu Bio, Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventor: Thomas J. Pollock
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Publication number: 20030083464Abstract: Novel polypeptides comprising repetitive units of amino acids, as well as synthetic genes encoding the subject polypeptides are provided. The subject polypeptides are characterized by comprising repetitive units of amino acids, where the repetitive units are present in naturally occurring proteins, particularly naturally occurring structural proteins. The subject polypeptides find use in a variety of applications, such as structural components of prosthetic devices, synthetic fibers, and the like.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 12, 2002Publication date: May 1, 2003Applicant: Protein Polymer Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Franco A. Ferrari, Charles Richardson, James Chambers, Stuart Causey, Thomas J. Pollock, Joseph Cappello, John W. Crissman
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Patent number: 6387666Abstract: A method for obtaining a substantially biologically pure culture strain of Aureobasidium pullulans from a wild type strain by enriching the collected strain for organisms which grow as fungal yeastlike cells, growing colonies from isolated yeastlike cells and selecting those yeastlike cells which exhibit reduced pigmentation. Biologically pure culture strains obtained by the invention as well as methods for producing pullulan having decreased pigmentation and/or increased molecular weight are disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: November 30, 1993Date of Patent: May 14, 2002Assignees: Shin-Etsu Bio, Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Linda P. Thorne, Thomas J. Pollock, Richard W. Armentrout
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Publication number: 20020035249Abstract: The present invention is directed to a Sphingomonas bacteria and a method of producing exopolysaccharides by culturing a Shingomonas bacteria in a fermentation broth for a time and temperature effective for providing a sphingan exopolysaccharide in a slime form.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 13, 2001Publication date: March 21, 2002Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Company, Ltd.Inventors: Motohide Yamazaki, Marcia Mikolajczak, Thomas J. Pollock, Richard W. Armentrout
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Publication number: 20020031808Abstract: The present invention provides for a method for obtaining a polysaccharide substantially free from whole bacterial cells and bacterial cell debris including:Type: ApplicationFiled: April 19, 2001Publication date: March 14, 2002Inventors: Marcia Mikolajczak, Motohide Yamazaki, Thomas J. Pollock
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Patent number: 6355776Abstract: Novel polypeptides comprising repetitive units of amino acids, as well as synthetic genes encoding the subject polypeptides are provided. The subject polypeptides are characterized by comprising repetitive units of amino acids, where the repetitive units are present in naturally occurring proteins, particularly naturally occurring structural proteins. The subject polypeptides find use in a variety of applications, such as structural components of prosthetic devices, synthetic fibers, and the like.Type: GrantFiled: November 22, 1999Date of Patent: March 12, 2002Assignee: Protein Polymer Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Franco A. Ferrari, Charles Richardson, James Chambers, Stuart Causey, Thomas J. Pollock, Joseph Cappello, John W. Crissman
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Patent number: 6284516Abstract: The present invention relates to DNA segments isolated from Sphingomonas sp. and involved in the biosynthetic production of sphingan polysaccharides to increase the production of the polysaccharide in engineered microorganisms. The present invention also relates to methods of engineering strains of Sphingomonas to produce bacteria which are hyperproducers of sphingan, methods of identifying and utilizing DNA fragments useful to enhance production of sphingan in bacteria and the hyperproducer bacteria.Type: GrantFiled: November 15, 1999Date of Patent: September 4, 2001Assignees: Shin-Etsu Bio, Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical. Co., Ltd.Inventors: Thomas J. Pollock, Motohide Yamazaki, Linda Thorne, Marcia Mikolajczak, Richard W. Armentrout
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Patent number: 6030817Abstract: A new recombinant bacteria for the production of exopolysaccharides is disclosed as well as a method for making the recombinant bacteria and making an exopolysaccharide from the bacteria by submerged aerobic fermentation of the bacteria utilizing a sugar substrate. The exopolysaccharides obtained from the inventive bacteria exhibit improved, more desirable or different properties from the exopolysaccharide produced by the non-recombinant bacteria from which the recombinant bacteria was derived. In addition, the present invention provides a method of producing bacterial exopolysaccharides by fermentation from sugar substrates that the bacteria which the exopolysaccharides are native to cannot utilize.Type: GrantFiled: June 11, 1998Date of Patent: February 29, 2000Assignees: Shin-Etsu Bio, Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Thomas J. Pollock, Marcia Mikolajczak, Motohide Yamazaki, Linda Thorne, Richard W. Armentrout
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Patent number: 6027925Abstract: A recombinant bacteria for the production of exopolysaccharides is disclosed as well as a method for making the recombinant bacteria and making an exopolysaccharide from the bacteria by submerged aerobic fermentation of the bacteria utilizing a sugar substrate. In addition, the present invention provides a method of producing bacterial exopolysaccharides by fermentation from sugar substrates that the wild-type bacteria for producing the exopolysaccharide cannot utilize.Type: GrantFiled: June 12, 1998Date of Patent: February 22, 2000Assignees: Shin-Etsu Bio, Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Thomas J. Pollock, Marcia Mikolajczak, Motohide Yamazaki, Linda Thorne, Richard W. Armentrout
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Patent number: 6018030Abstract: Polypeptides comprising repetitive units of amino acids, as well as synthetic genes encoding the subject polypeptides are provided. The subject polypeptides are characterized by comprising repetitive units of amino acids, where the repetitive units are present in naturally occurring proteins, particularly naturally occurring structural proteins. The subject polypeptides find use in a variety of applications, such as structural components of prosthetic devices, synthetic fibers, and the like.Type: GrantFiled: June 7, 1995Date of Patent: January 25, 2000Assignee: Protein Polymer Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Franco A. Ferrari, Charles Richardson, James Chambers, Stuart Causey, Thomas J. Pollock, Joseph Cappello, John W. Crissman
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Patent number: 6010899Abstract: A method for obtaining a substantially biologically pure culture strain of Aureobasidium pullulans from a wild type strain by enriching the collected strain for organisms which grow as fungal yeastlike cells, growing colonies from isolated yeastlike cells and selecting those yeastlike cells which exhibit reduced pigmentation. Biologically pure culture strains obtained by the invention as well as methods for producing pullulan having decreased pigmentation and/or increased molecular weight are disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: February 26, 1992Date of Patent: January 4, 2000Assignees: Shin-Etsu Bio, Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Linda P. Thorne, Thomas J. Pollock, Richard W. Armentrout
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Patent number: 5985623Abstract: The present invention relates to DNA segments isolated from Sphingomonas sp. and involved in the biosynthetic production of sphingan polysaccharides to increase the production of the polysaccharide in engineered microorganisms. The present invention also relates to methods of engineering strains of Sphingomonas to produce bacteria which are hyperproducers of sphingan, methods of identifying and utilizing DNA fragments useful to enhance production of sphingan in bacteria and the hyperproducer bacteria.Type: GrantFiled: January 24, 1995Date of Patent: November 16, 1999Assignees: Shin-Etsu Bio, Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Thomas J. Pollock, Motohide Yamazaki, Linda Thorne, Marcia Mikolajczak, Richard W. Armentrout
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Patent number: 5912151Abstract: A method of increasing xanthan gum production, comprising culturing a Xanthomonas campestris strain having a xanthan-increasing modification in a culture medium, wherein the modification is selected from the group consisting of (1) a mutation causing rifampicin-resistance; (2) a mutation causing bacitracin-resistance; or (3) exogenous genetic information controlling the synthesis of xanthan; and separating xanthan from the culture medium, is provided along with specific DNA sequences and Xanthomonas campestris strains showing increased xanthan gum production.Type: GrantFiled: January 24, 1992Date of Patent: June 15, 1999Assignees: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., Shin-Etsu Bio, Inc.Inventors: Thomas J. Pollock, Linda Thorne
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Patent number: 5854034Abstract: The present invention relates to DNA segments isolated from Sphingomonas sp. and involved in the biosynthetic production of sphingan polysaccharides to increase the production of the polysaccharide in engineered microorganisms. The present invention also relates to methods of engineering strains of Sphingomonas to produce bacteria which are hyperproducers of sphingan, methods of identifying and utilizing DNA fragments useful to enhance production of sphingan in bacteria and the hyperproducer bacteria.Type: GrantFiled: January 24, 1996Date of Patent: December 29, 1998Assignees: Shin-Etsu Cio, Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Thomas J. Pollock, Motohide Yamazaki, Linda Thorne, Marcia Mikolajczak, Richard W. Armentrout
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Patent number: 5770697Abstract: Novel polypeptides comprising repetitive units of amino acids, as well as synthetic genes encoding the subject polypeptides are provided. The subject polypeptides are characterized by comprising repetitive units of amino acids, where the repetitive units are present in naturally occurring proteins, particularly naturally occurring structural proteins. The subject polypeptides find use in a variety of applications, such as structural components of prosthetic devices, synthetic fibers, and the like.Type: GrantFiled: June 7, 1995Date of Patent: June 23, 1998Assignee: Protein Polymer Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Franco A. Ferrari, Charles Richardson, James Chambers, Stuart Causey, Thomas J. Pollock, Joseph Cappello, John W. Crissman