The Regents of the University of California of Oakland, Calif., have received US Patent No. 7,179,598, “Early leukemia diagnostics using microsphere arrays.” The patent claims methods and kits for detecting chromosome translocations as well as methods for diagnosing cancer. The method of detecting a chromosome translocation associated with leukemia calls for: (a) amplifying a target nucleic acid sequence from a biological sample; (b) hybridizing a first oligonucleotide to the amplified target under conditions in which the first oligonucleotide specifically hybridizes to a first region of the translocation; (c) hybridizing a second oligonucleotide under conditions in which the second oligonucleotide specifically hybridizes to a second region of the translocation; (d) extending the first and second hybridized oligonucleotide sequences to produce a first and a second labeled extended oligonucleotide; (e) hybridizing the first and second oligonucleotides to a first and a second address tag on a solid; and (f) detecting the presence of the first and second labeled extended oligonucleotides on the solid support, thereby detecting the presence of the chromosome translocation associated with leukemia.
Large Scale Biology of Vacaville, Calif., has received US Patent No. 7,179,638, “Microarrays and their manufacture by slicing.” The patent claims a method for producing rods or tubules where each rod contains a different entrapped or attached biological agent of interest. The rods are then arranged into parallel bundles and the bundles are then sliced into thin sections to produce large numbers of identical arrays or chips.
Affymetrix has received US Patent No. 7,179,905, “Nucleic acid labeling compounds.” The patent claims nucleic acid labeling compounds containing heterocyclic derivatives where the derivatives are synthesized by condensing a heterocyclic derivative with a cyclic group. The labeling compounds are suitable for enzymatic attachment to a nucleic acid to provide a mechanism of nucleic acid detection, the patent’s abstract states.