Illumina has received US Patent No. 7,799,527, "Systems and methods for automated quality control of polymer synthesis." The patent provides methods for evaluating polymer synthesis reactions. Evaluation of a synthetic reaction product can be based on a quantitative measure of synthesis such as coupling efficiency or yield, and various parameters determined from a separation record obtained for the synthetic reaction product, according to the patent. Methods for evaluating a separation method based on various parameters determined from a separation record are also provided. These methods can be used to select an appropriate treatment for a synthetic reaction product such as a separation treatment.
The University of Louisville Research Foundation of Louisville, Ky., has received US Patent No. 7,799,531, "Detecting fetal chromosomal abnormalities using tandem single nucleotide polymorphisms." The patent claims a method for determining whether a fetus has a chromosomal abnormality by: a) detecting at least three alleles of at least one tandem SNP in a maternal sample, where each of the alleles is a different haplotype of each SNP, and one of the alleles is not present in the maternal genome; and b) comparing the relative copy number of each allele to detect a chromosomal abnormality.
The University of Illinois of Urbana has received US Patent No. 7,799,554, "Lateral flow devices." The patent describes a test for an analyte that includes: a) a base containing a reaction area and a visualization area; b) a capture species, on the base in the visualization area, which includes nucleic acid; and c) analysis chemistry reagents on the base in the reaction area. According to the patent, the analysis chemistry reagents include a substrate comprising nucleic acid and a first label, and a reactor comprising nucleic acid. The analysis chemistry reagents can react with a sample that includes the analyte and water to produce a visualization species of the nucleic acid and the first label, where capture species can bind the visualization species, the patent states.
George Liu of Redmond, Wash., has received US Patent No. 7,799,556, "System and method for antigen structure-independent detection of antigens captured on antibody arrays." The patent provides a method for detecting antigens captured on an antibody array. The method includes contacting the antibody array with a sample containing an antigen that may be captured by the antibodies disposed on the array, and detecting the captured antigen with a detecting agent that specifically binds to the antigen-bound antibodies on the array. In a preferred embodiment, Clq is used as the detecting agent.
The University of Chicago has received US Patent No. 7,799,570, "Methods for validating the presence of and characterizing proteins deposited onto an array." The patent claims methods of characterizing proteins transferred from liquid-phase protein fractions to an array including staining the array with a post-translational modification-specific stain and imaging the array and, optionally, after imaging, washing the array, re-staining the array with a total protein stain, imaging the array again, and comparing the imaging with the PTM-specific stain with the imaging with the total protein stain.