Appeal No. 96-1355
Application 07/896,209
The references relied upon by the examiner are:
Free et al. (Free) 3,087,794 Apr. 30, 1963
Fetter et al. (Fetter) 3,552,928 Jan. 5, 1971
Meiattini 418,486 Mar. 27, 1991
(European Patent Application)
Claims 2 through 8, 10 through 13, 16, 17, 21 through 24, 26 through 29 and 85
through 88 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over Free and Meiattini
in view of Fetter. We reverse.
The claims on appeal are directed to a method of detecting granulocytes in a
sample of whole blood. In its broadest aspect, the method involves treating the sample to
lyse red blood cells; separating any granulocytes in the sample from the red cell debris;
lysing the granulocytes to release intracellular myeloperoxidase; and incubating the
myeloperoxidase with an oxygen-sensitive color developing indicator system. Claim 85,
from which all the other claims depend, recites:
. . . disrupting red blood cells in the sample by lysis and removing the
debris of the disrupted red blood cells by trapping the granulocytes on a
membrane and passing said debris through the membrane to isolate said
granulocytes and to remove from the blood sample components in the
sample that might interfere with a determination of the granulocytes in the
sample;
lysing the isolated granulocytes in the blood sample on said
membrane to release intracellular myeloperoxidase . . .
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