The University of Utah Research Foundation of Salt Lake City has been awarded US Patent 7,208,299, “Composition and method for regulating the adhesion of cells and biomolecules to hydrophobic surfaces.”
Inventors listed on the patent are Karin Caldwell, Patrick Tresco, and Jennifer Neff.
The patent covers a composition and method for regulating the adhesion of cells and biomolecules to hydrophobic surfaces and hydrophobic coated surfaces. According to the patent abstract, “The composition is a biomolecule-conjugated end-group activated polymer. The biomolecule-conjugated EGAP can be put to numerous uses including cell adhesion, cell growth, cell sorting, and other biological assays.”
Allergan of Irvine, Calif, has been awarded US Patent 7,208,285, “FRET protease assays for botulinum serotype A/E toxins.”
Inventors listed on the patent are Lance Steward, Ester Fernandez-Salas, and Kei Roger Aoki.
The patent covers clostridial toxin substrates that are useful in assaying for the protease activity of any clostridial toxin. The substrates contain, “a donor fluorophore; an acceptor having an absorbance spectrum overlapping the emission spectrum of the donor fluorophore; and a clostridial toxin recognition sequence that includes a cleavage site, where the cleavage site intervenes between the donor fluorophore and the acceptor and where, under the appropriate conditions, resonance energy transfer is exhibited between the donor fluorophore and the acceptor,” according the patent abstract.