Appeal No. 2001-0544 Page 4
Application No. 08/195,048
an analyte-specific ligand, “washing the solid phase with a solution containing
phenol or a phenol derivative carrying one or more substituents, wherein said
substituents are C1 to C3-alkyl groups, chlorine, or bromine,” removing the wash
solution, and detecting the bound analyte. The examiner rejected all of the
claims as obvious and rejected claim 25 as lacking adequate descriptive support.
1. Obviousness
A. McClune ‘999, McClune ‘983, and Katz
The examiner rejected all of the claims as obvious in view of the
disclosures of McClune ‘999, McClune ‘983, and Katz. The basis of the rejection
is unclear from the Examiner’s Answer. The Answer states that both McClune
references “have been discussed supra,” but the Examiner’s Answer does not
contain any previous discussion of either McClune reference. The examiner
additionally cited McClune ‘983 as teaching a method for detecting human
chronic gonadotropin (hCG), and stated that McClune ‘999 “differs from the
instant invention in that they do not teach immobilization of the first antibody prior
to contact with the sample (claim 14) and consequently that the complex of first
antibody and analyte can be washed prior to contact with the second antibody
(claim 20).” Examiner’s Answer, page 6. The examiner cited Katz as teaching
an immunological method of detecting hCG using a solid support having anti-
hCG antibody attached to it via avidin/biotin coupling.
The examiner concluded that
[i]t would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to
immobilize the avidin-labeled first anti-hCG antibody of McClune
[‘999] prior to reaction with sample, since Katz et al. specifically
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007