Fluidigm has been awarded US Patent No. 8,473,216, "Method and program for performing baseline correction of amplification curves in a PCR experiment."
Gang Sun, Ramesh Ramakrishnan, and Robert Jones are named as inventors.
Describes a method of adjusting amplification curves in a PCR experiment. The method includes receiving a plurality of amplification curves for a sample and computing a first parameter for each of the plurality of amplification curves. The method also includes computing a second parameter for each of the plurality of amplification curves and computing a third parameter using at least a portion of the first or second parameters. The method further includes computing an offset for each of the plurality of amplification curves. The offset is a function of the first parameter and the third parameter. Moreover, the method includes adjusting at least one of the amplification curves by subtracting the offset.
HandyLab (Becton-Dickinson) has been awarded US Patent No. 8,470,586, "Processing polynucleotide-containing samples."
Betty Wu, John Althaus, Sundaresh Brahmasandra, Kalyan Handique, and Nikhil Phadke are named as inventors.
Discloses methods and systems for processing polynucleotides (e.g., DNA). A processing region includes one or more surfaces (e.g., particle surfaces) modified with ligands that regain polynucleotides under a first set of conditions (e.g., temperature and pH) and release the polynucleotides under a second set of conditions (e.g., higher temperature and/or more basic pH). The processing region can be used to, for example, concentrate polynucleotides of a sample and/or separate inhibitors of amplification reactions from the polynucleotides. The patent also discloses microfluidic devices with a processing region.
Bio-Rad Laboratories has been awarded US Patent No. 8,470,573, "Hybrid polymerases having the ability to produce long amplicons."
Yan Wang and John Sullivan are named as inventors.
Provides DNA polymerases having increased efficiency of amplification of long amplicons. The invention also provides methods of amplifying target nucleic acid molecules with the DNA polymerases to increase the efficiency of amplifying long amplicons.
DNA Polymerase Technology has been awarded US Patent No. 8,470,563, "Use of whole blood in PCR reactions."
Milko Kermekchiev and Wayne Barnes are named as inventors.
Covers a method of obtaining DNA amplification of a nucleic acid target from a volume of whole blood by using a PCR assay mixture with a blood-resistant polymerase.
DNA Genotek (OraSure Technologies) has been awarded US Patent No. 8,470,536, "Compositions and method for storage of nucleic acid from bodily fluids."
Chaim Birnboim, Adele Jackson, Rafal Iwasiow, Joanne Chartier, and Paul Lem are named as inventors.
Provides an aqueous composition and method for extracting nucleic acid from a sample of bodily fluid, such as saliva, such that the nucleic acid within said sample remains stable for at least fourteen days at room temperature. The composition permits direct use of the extracted and stored DNA in an amplification reaction without further processing.
Affymetrix has been awarded US Patent No. 8,470,535, "Two-stage nucleic acid amplification using an amplification oligomer."
Gary McMaster and Yunqing Ma are named as inventors.
Provides methods, compositions, and systems to detect a nucleic acid of interest in a two-stage amplification. The two-stage amplification begins with a non-enzymatic accumulation of an amplification oligomer that is the target substrate for a second nucleic acid amplification or assay. Two or more amplification oligomers can be used to allow multiplexed amplifications of two or more nucleic acids of interest with deconvolution based on unique detection signals or unique signal locations.
Applied Biosystems (Life Technologies) has been awarded US Patent No. 8,470,531, "Compositions, methods, and kits for amplifying nucleic acids."
Shoulian Dong, Junko Stevens, and Danny Lee are named as inventors.
Covers compositions, methods, and kits for amplifying target nucleic acids while reducing non-specific fluorescence and undesired amplification products, sometimes referred to as secondary amplification products or spurious side-products. The disclosed enzyme inhibitors comprise a nucleotide sequence and at least one quencher. The patent also provides complexes comprising an enzyme inhibitor associated with an enzyme, wherein at least one enzymatic activity of the enzyme is inhibited. The patent further discloses methods for amplifying a target nucleic acid while reducing undesired amplification products, and methods for reducing non-specific fluorescence. The patent also provides kits for expediting the performance of certain disclosed methods.
Ibis Biosciences (Abbott) has been awarded US Patent No. 8,470,261, "Integrated sample preparation systems and stabilized enzyme mixtures."
Mark Eshoo and John Picuri are named as inventors.
Provides integrated sample preparation systems and stabilized enzyme mixtures. In particular, the invention provides microfluidic cards configured for processing a sample and generating DNA libraries that are suitable for use in sequencing methods or other suitable nucleic acid analysis methods. The invention also provides stabilized enzyme mixtures containing an enzyme, bovine serum albumin, and a sugar. Such enzyme mixtures may be lyophilized and stored at room temperature without significant loss of enzyme activity for months.