Appeal 2006-2897
Application 10/074,715
composition containing a chelating agent and a . . . cell lysing
agent.” Spec. at 2, ll. 2-5.
2. As broadly described, the invention may contain a “surfactant,”
i.e., a detergent. See id. at 3, l. 32.
3. Also as broadly described, antifreeze agents and preservative
agents are optional. See id. at 2, ll. 2-5.
4. Anti-microbial agents are one class of preservatives. Id. at 3,
ll. 23.
5. A preferred preservative is sodium azide. Id. at 6, l. 13.
6. A particularly preferred antifreeze agent is ethylene glycol.
Id. at 6, ll. 20-21.
7. “Biological fluid specimens that can be preserved” with
Appellants’ compositions include “whole blood, plasma,
serum . . . .” Id. at 4. See also id. at 11 (Example 3).
8. Serum would include serum proteins. See, e.g., Steaffens, col. 4,
ll. 19-21.
II. Claim Interpretation
1. Claim 12 requires: “about 0.05 to about 0.5 weight percent of a
chelating agent” and “about 5 to about 25 weight percent of a cell
lysing agent,” with “the remainder being water.” See claim 12
(quoted above).
2. “The term ‘chelating agent’ . . . means any chemical substance
capable of chelating, complexing, or sequestering alkaline earth or
transition metal ions [and] includes complexing agents and
sequestering agents.” Spec. at 3, ll. 15-18.
4
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