The UK's Medical Research Council has been awarded US Patent No. 8,435,775, "Mutant Pfu DNA polymerase."
Phillip Holliger, Nicola Ramsay, and Ann-Sofie Jemth are named as inventors.
Relates to an engineered polymerase with an expanded substrate range such that the polymerase is capable of incorporating an enhanced occurrence of detection agent-labeled nucleotide analogue into nucleic acid synthesized by that engineered polymerase as compared with the wild-type polymerase from which it is derived.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen have been awarded US Patent No. 8,435,764, "Multiplex detection of hepatitis virus variations."
Chunming Ding, Ju Luan, Boping Zhou, Jing Yuan, Xinchun Chen, and Hongmei Zhang are named as inventors.
Discloses a method for detecting virus variations, as well as a method for treating virus infection in a subject based on the detection of virus variations. In short, the detection method comprises (a) providing a hepatitis B DNA molecule from a subject suffering from an HBV infection as a template, wherein the DNA molecule includes an HBV variation site; (b) extending multiplex extension primers along the template to obtain extension products containing nucleotides at the variation sites; and (c) analyzing the extension products by mass spectrometry to detect the HBV variations. The patent also provides a kit to detect virus variations.
Fujifilm has been awarded US Patent No. 8,435,741, "Isothermal nucleic acid amplification method using surfactant."
Hayato Miyoshi, Yoshihide Iwaki, and Toshihiro Mori are named as inventors.
Provides a nucleic acid amplification method by which a nucleic acid can be substantially amplified isothermally using oligonucleotide primers and DNA polymerase capable of strand displacement. More specifically, the method comprises isothermal incubation of a reaction solution containing at least one type of deoxynucleotide triphosphate, at least one type of DNA polymerase having strand displacement activity, a divalent cation, at least 0.01 percent or more surfactant, at least two types of oligonucleotide primer, and the nucleic acid fragment as a template so as to perform a polymerase reaction that initiates from the 3' end of the primer and amplifies the nucleic acid fragment, the patent's abstract states.
Life Technologies has been awarded US Patent No. 8,435,739, "Gene expression profiling from FFPE samples."
Mark Erlander and Ranelle Salunga are named as inventors.
Describes methods and compositions relating to the generation and use of gene expression data from tissue samples that have been fixed and embedded. The method comprises synthesizing, with a primer comprising a sequence complementary to RNA extracted from cells of a deparaffinized formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sample, a first cDNA strand(s); amplifying said cDNA strands to produce amplified molecules; binding said amplified molecules to a solid support; and producing signals from the bound molecules, wherein the signals reflect expressed RNA in said cells. The data can be electronically stored and implemented as well as used to augment diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
Cal Poly Corporation has been awarded US Patent No. 8,435,737, "Primers for the rapid and specific detection of propane-oxidizing and butane-oxidizing microorganisms and methods of using same."
Raul Cano, Christopher Kitts, and Brian Chan are named as inventors.
Provides nucleic acid sequences which in one embodiment provide a primer pair. The primers are capable of amplifying a nucleic acid molecule that indicates the presence of a propane- and/or butane-oxidizing microorganism. The patent also provides a method employing such primers in a process that indicates the presence of such organisms. The method is useful in detecting the presence of petroleum-like products.
3M has been awarded US Patent No. 8,435,462, "Sample processing devices."
William Bedingham, Chad Carter, Robert Harkins, Michael Harms, Christopher Kokaisel, Diane North, and Kenneth Wood are named as inventors.
Discloses methods and devices for thermal processing of multiple samples at the same time. The sample processing devices process arrays that include conduits useful in distributing sample materials to a group of process chambers located in fluid communication with the main conduits. The devices may include one or more of the following features in various combinations: deformable seals, process chambers connected to the main conduit by feeder conduits exiting the main conduit at offset locations, U-shaped loading chambers, and a combination of melt-bonded and adhesively bonded areas. The device can be used to process liquid sample materials in multiple process chambers to obtain desired reactions such as PCR amplification, ligase chain reaction, self-sustaining sequence replication, enzyme kinetic studies, homogeneous ligand-binding assays, and other chemical, biochemical, or other reactions that may, for example, require precise and/or rapid thermal variations, according to the patent.