The US Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Zyomyx a patent covering a broad class of protein immobilization surfaces “having properties ideally suited for attaching proteins to biochip surfaces,” the Hayward, Calif.-based company said in a statement. The patent, US Patent 6,365,418, is entitled “Arrays of Protein-Capture Agents and Methods of Use Thereof” and is the second patent awarded to Zyomyx in the area of surface chemistry for protein biochips.
Large Scale Biology has been awarded US Patent 6,344,597 covering a new plant species used in protein production, the Vacaville, Calif.-based company said. The plant species, Nicotiana excelsiana, is used with the company’s Geneware technology for producing proteins with research and potentially therapeutic applications. “LSBC now holds a proprietary method of crossing different species of Nicotiana to produce an interspecific hybrid with increased biomass and improved utility,” LSBC said.