Appeal No. 2001-1412 Paper No. 29
Application No. 08/629,177 Page 3
all three rejections.
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to the
appellants’ specification and claims and to the respective positions articulated by the
appellants and the examiner. We make reference to the examiner’s answer (Paper 28,
mailed May 9, 2000) for the examiner’s reasoning in support of the rejections and to the
appellants’ brief (Paper 27, filed April 20, 2000) for the appellants’ arguments
thereagainst.
THE INVENTION
Appellants’ claimed invention is directed to immunoassays and devices comprising
reaction wells containing all necessary reagents predried therein (specification, p. 1, ll. 1-5;
p. 2, ll. 20-22; p. 5, ll. 2-4). An analyte specific component, e.g., an anti-analyte antibody
10, is immobilized directly or indirectly (e.g., a biotinylated antibody 10 is bound to a
streptavidin 13 coated well) onto the surface of the well (id., p. 8, ll. 9-15 and 20-23; Exs. 3
and 4; FIG. 1A and 1B). An “insulating” layer 11 containing carbohydrate and/or protein is
dried on top of the immobilized component 10 (id., p. 8, ll. 15-18 and 23-24; p. 11, ll. 10-
12; Ex. 5; FIG. 1A and 1B). Finally, a fluorescent-labeled analyte specific component, e.g.,
a lanthanide chelate labeled anti-analyte antibody 14 (for a non-competitive assay) or
labeled analyte 14 (for a competitive assay) is added on top of the insulating layer 11 and
dried (id., p. 3, ll. 22-24; p. 7, ll. 12-17; p. 8, ll. 18-20 and 24-26; p. 11, ll. 23-24; Ex. 5; FIG.
1A and 1B). To use, sample is added to the well and incubated; then the well is washed
and immobilized label is measured to determine the amount of analyte in the sample (id.,
p. 5, ll. 11-31; p. 8, ll. 29-31; p. 10, ll. 12-31; Ex. 6). More than one analyte may be
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