Schott of Mainz, Germany, has received US Patent No. 7,155,934, “Method for the production of borosilicate glass with a surface suitable for modification glass obtained according to said method and the use thereof.” The patent describes a method of making borosilicate glass with a surface having reactive silica gel groups on it. The method includes preparing a borosilicate glass melt and dissolving at least 30 millimoles per liter of water in the borosilicate glass melt. The borosilicate glass with the reactive surface can be used as a substrate for chemically covalent immobilization of reactive substances. This substrate can be used to make a biochemical chip, such as a DNA or gene chip, or dirt-proof window glass.
Affymetrix has received US Patent No. 7,157,564, “Tag nucleic acids and probe arrays.” The patent claims a set of 2,500 nucleic acid sequences that is appropriate for use for a wide variety of applications requiring nucleic acid tags. For example, the sequence tags can be used to label biological and non-biological materials, in genotyping applications, and in a variety of other analyses, according to the patent’s abstract.
Affymetrix has also received US Patent No. 7,158,224, “Optically active substrates.” The patent claims a device for the optical examination of biological materials using radiation of a selected wavelength. The device includes a substrate having a first surface that includes a dense array of micro-optical elements arranged to provide increased intensity radiation or evanescent radiation, and a second surface opposite the first. The first surface is in close proximity to the biological material being examined, the patent’s abstract states.