Appeal No. 2001-2410 Page 7
Application No. 08/914,700
that the analyte, the binding substance and the detector substance all can pass
through the support.”
Hossom does not disclose a porous support meeting these limitations.
Rather, Hossom discloses a device that is “suitable for use with any of the
conventional procedures used for analyte assays.” Column 2, lines 31-33.
Hossom provides the following guidance with regard to filters:
In the preferred embodiment the filter means is made of a porous
material capable of drawing liquid within its structure by capillary
action. The pores of the filter should be sufficiently small to effect a
filter separation of an insolubilized component within the liquid from
a solubilized component. . . . It has been found that a filter means,
which comprises a microporous membrane having substantially
uniform pores between 25 nanometers and 25 micrometers, has
the characteristics described and is useful in performing
immunoassay testing procedures for which this device is
particularly useful.
Column 4, lines 38-58 (reference numerals omitted).
Hossom also discloses that the device
may also be used for specific immunochemical assays by
“prespotting” the reaction zone with an analyte specific reactant. . . .
For example, the manufacturer of the device could place in the filter
reaction zone a binding protein to which an antibody is bound,
which antibody is immunologically reactive with a specific antigen.
Thus, a specimen being tested for the specific antigen would be . . .
[applied] onto the upper surface of the reaction zone of [the] filter.
The solution would be wicked through the reaction zone which has
been prespotted . . . If the specific antigen is present in the
specimen, it binds to the antigen’s specific antibody which itself is
already immobilized within the filter and would remain in the
reaction zone after the washing step. The unbound antigen and
other material within the solution are effectively washed away from
the reaction zone and into the absorbent means. Finally, an
antibody labeled with a detectable enzyme . . . is poured through
the test device and binds to the bound antigen.
Column 5, lines 25-60 (reference numerals omitted).
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