Applera received US Patent No. 6,635,470, “Fiber array and methods for using and making same.” The patent covers an apparatus and a method for contacting at least two chemical types, comprising a support plate having a channel for receiving a mobile chemical and a fiber, with a second chemical type immobilized on it and disposed on the support plate. At least a portion of the fiber is exposed to the channel such that the mobile chemical may contact the second chemical. An apparatus and method for reading the fiber array, an apparatus and method for making the fiber array, and methods of using the fiber array invention are also provided. In the background description for the technology, the inventors say that it “relates generally to microarrays for contacting small quantities of chemical species. More specifically, the invention relates to microarrays for contacting an oligonucleotide probe with an oligonucleotide target, a reader for reading the microarray, and a method and apparatus for making the microarray.” The patent is the second Applera has received for this type of technology. The first, US Patent No. 6,573,089, “Method for using and making a fiber array,” was granted June 3, 2003.
Integriderm of Birmingham, Ala., received US Patent No. 6,635,423, “Informative nucleic acid arrays and methods for making same.” The patent covers methods for making and using informative nucleic acid arrays (DNA including cDNA, RNA, PNA) for research and other applications. The arrays of the device may contain only the gene sequences that are of interest in a particular area of application, and may exclude other gene sequences. The patent includes a method for identifying genes that are differentially expressed between dissim-ilar biological samples for use in an informative array.
Ribonomics of Research Triangle Park, NC, received US Patent No. 6,635,422, “Methods for isolating and characterizing endogenous mRNA-protein (mRNP) complexes.” Cellular mRNA-protein complexes are partitioned in vivo by contacting a biological sample with at least one ligand that specifically binds at least one component of a mRNP complex. Suitable biological samples comprise at least one mRNA-protein (mRNP) complex and include cell cultures, cell extracts, and whole tissue, including tumor tissue.